Recording device, vehicle information processing device, etc.

Abstract

To provide a video recorder capable of preventing an increase in cumulative time during which recording is not performed even in the case of repeating frequent start and stop of power supply to an electric system of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A video recorder is mounted on a vehicle for use. The video recorder detects a first state where a vehicle's electrical system has not been powered or the vehicle has stopped operating, and continues to be powered on even after detecting the first state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] A recording device such as a drive recorder that records the surroundings of a vehicle while the vehicle is running and mounted on the vehicle is known. This recording device generally receives power supply from the vehicle during a period when a switch (hereinafter referred to as a main switch) for starting and stopping power supply to the vehicle's electrical system is turned on, and performs recording. When the main switch is turned off, the power supply from the vehicle to the recording device is stopped, and the recording also stops.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a work vehicle such as a forklift, the on / off of the main switch may be frequently switched according to the driver's getting on and off. In a general recording device, after the main switch of the vehicle is turned on and the power supply is started, a delay time occurs until the actual recording starts. For this reason, during the period after the main switch is turned on until this delay time elapses, no recording is performed. If the on / off of the main switch is frequently switched, the cumulative time of the non-recorded period becomes long.

[0005] For example, when performing a loading and unloading operation with a forklift, after loading the goods at the loading location, the driver needs to get out of the driver's seat to confirm that the goods are properly loaded at the loading location. When getting out of the driver's seat, it is recommended to turn off the main switch of the forklift for safety reasons. In a conventional recording device, when the main switch of the forklift is turned off and the power supply to the recording device is stopped, the recording also stops. For example, if the delay time from the start of power supply to the start of recording is about 10 seconds, when performing an operation of repeatedly turning on the main switch for about 30 seconds with the state of turning off the main switch in between, only about 20 seconds out of the about 30 seconds when the main switch is on will be recorded.

[0006] There may be a case where a plurality of cameras are mounted on one vehicle and a plurality of moving image data are recorded by the plurality of cameras. Although it is possible to synchronize and play back the plurality of moving image data in a playback device in terms of time, it is cumbersome to handle a plurality of moving image files in which the moving image data acquired by the plurality of cameras are respectively stored in an associated manner.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a recording device and the like that can suppress the elongation of the cumulative time during which recording does not occur even when the start and stop of power supply to the electrical system of a vehicle are frequently repeated. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle information processing device and the like that can facilitate the handling of moving image files in which moving image data acquired by a plurality of cameras are stored.

[0008] The object of the invention of the present application is not limited to this, and the applicant also has the intention of obtaining rights through divisional applications, amendments, etc. for configurations aimed at obtaining effects resulting from parts of the configurations disclosed in this specification, drawings, etc. For example, the problems obtained by reading the parts described as "~ can be done" in this specification as "~ is a problem" are disclosed in this specification. The problems are described as independent ones, and the applicant also has the intention of obtaining rights through divisional applications, amendments, etc. alone for the configurations for solving these problems. Even if the problems are implicitly grasped from the description of the specification, the applicant has the intention of making the scope of claims by amending or filing a divisional application for a part of the configuration described in this specification. Also, problems combining these independent problems are disclosed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] (1) It is preferably a recording device that is mounted on a vehicle and used, detects that it has entered a first state in which power is not supplied to the electrical system of the vehicle or the vehicle has stopped operating, and continues to be in a powered-on state even after detecting that it has entered the first state.

[0010] When the power of the recording device is turned on at the time when power supply to the electrical system of the vehicle starts or the vehicle starts operating, in order to perform various pre-recording preparation processes before starting recording, such as charging a capacitor and initializing data, the elapsed time until recording starts becomes long. In contrast, in this recording device, since the powered-on state continues even after the vehicle enters the first state, if there is a recording request during the period in which the powered-on state is maintained, recording can be started in a short elapsed time.

[0011] As an example of a vehicle equipped with a recording device, there is a forklift or the like, which is a cargo handling vehicle equipped with a liftable and tiltable cargo handling fork on the vehicle body. Examples of forklifts equipped with a recording device include an electric forklift (battery forklift), an internal combustion engine forklift, and an internal combustion engine-electric combined forklift. In the case of an internal combustion engine forklift, the power required for the vehicle to travel, the mast to tilt, and the fork to lift is provided by the output from the internal combustion engine. The power of the battery installed in the internal combustion engine forklift is used for the cell motor for starting the internal combustion engine, sensors, the electronic control unit for the internal combustion engine, lighting, etc. On the other hand, in the case of an electric forklift, the power required for the vehicle to travel, the mast to tilt, and the fork to lift is provided by the output power from the battery installed in the forklift. Therefore, the capacity of the battery installed in the electric forklift is much larger than the capacity of the battery installed in the internal combustion engine forklift.

[0012] When the vehicle is an electric forklift, the electrical system of the vehicle includes an electronic control unit, a driving motor, various sensors, lamps, etc. The state where no power is supplied to the electrical system of the vehicle may include, for example, the state where neither traveling nor the lifting of the fork is performed even when the operation lever is operated. The state where power is supplied to the electrical system of the vehicle may include the state where traveling and the lifting of the fork can be performed by operating the operation lever.

[0013] When the vehicle is an internal combustion engine type forklift, the electrical system of the vehicle includes an electronic control unit, a cell motor, various sensors, lamps, etc. The state where no power is supplied to the electrical system of the vehicle may include, for example, a state where neither running nor fork lifting is performed even when the operation lever is operated, and a state where the engine is not started. The state where power is supplied to the electrical system of the vehicle may include a state where the cell motor can be operated by operating the start key to start the engine. When the engine is started, running and fork lifting can be performed by operating the operation lever. The state where power is supplied to the electrical system of the vehicle corresponds to, for example, a state where the accessory switch of a normal gasoline vehicle is turned on.

[0014] The state where the vehicle is stopped may include, for example, a state where neither fork lifting nor vehicle running is performed.

[0015] After the recording device detects that the vehicle has entered the first state, when the power is turned on, it is preferably set as a state where the vehicle receives power supply from the battery and can start recording immediately if necessary. As a state where recording can be started immediately, for example, a process of temporarily storing video data acquired by a camera in a ring buffer is executed, and a process of writing to a non-volatile memory such as a removable recording medium from the ring buffer is not performed. In addition, as a state where recording can be started immediately, for example, a process of reading video data from the camera is executed but a process of writing to the ring buffer is not performed.

[0016] After the recording device detects that the vehicle has entered the first state, it is advisable to continue recording during the period when the power is on. It is possible to record the operation of checking the load carried out while the driver gets off the forklift and the vehicle is in the first state. If any accident occurs during this checking operation, the video recorded during the checking operation will be useful information for identifying the cause of the accident. If the vehicle equipped with the recording device is an electric forklift, a large-capacity battery is installed in the vehicle. Therefore, even if the vehicle receives direct power supply from the vehicle's battery during the period when the vehicle is in the first state, the impact on the power consumption of the battery installed in the vehicle is small. In addition, in a workplace where electric forklifts are introduced, it is possible to charge them on the spot. Therefore, the process of continuing recording by receiving power supply from the battery installed in the vehicle during the period when the vehicle is in the first state can be easily realized particularly in the case of an electric forklift. Therefore, it is particularly advisable to install this recording device on an electric forklift and have it receive power supply from the battery of the electric forklift.

[0017] (2) The vehicle is provided with switching means for supplying power to the electrical system by turning on and stopping the supply of power to the electrical system by turning off, and it is advisable to use a recording device in which the first state is a state in which the switching means of the vehicle is turned off.

[0018] Even in the first state where the switching means of the vehicle is turned off, as long as the power-on state continues, the delay time from the time when a recording start request is made to the start of recording can be shortened compared to the period when the power is off. This switching means corresponds to, for example, the accessory switch (ACC switch) of a general gasoline-powered vehicle.

[0019] The recording device preferably has a function of starting recording when it detects that the switching means of the vehicle has been turned on. When the switching means is turned on during the period when the power-on state continues, recording can be started with a short delay time. Therefore, the period during which video data is missing can be shortened.

[0020] When it is detected that the switching means has been turned off, the power-on state may be maintained and the recording may be stopped. Thereby, it is possible to avoid the storage area for recording video data from being consumed by video data of low importance.

[0021] (3) It is preferable that the recording device is connected to a terminal that supplies power from the vehicle battery to the outside regardless of the on / off state of the switching means.

[0022] The recording device can receive power supply from the vehicle battery without mounting a large-capacity battery. A power source that can extract power from the vehicle battery regardless of the on / off state of the switching means is generally called a +B power source. On the other hand, a power source that can extract power only when the switching means is on is called an accessory power source (ACC power source). The recording device may determine the on / off state of the switching means based on the presence or absence of power supply from the ACC power source.

[0023] (4) Further, it is preferable that the recording device includes an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration generated in the vehicle, and determines whether or not the vehicle is in a stopped state based on the measurement result of the acceleration sensor.

[0024] A state in which no acceleration is generated in the vehicle, that is, a state in which only gravity and vertical resistance act on the vehicle, may be determined as a state in which the vehicle is stopped. Even in such a state, by continuing the power-on state of the recording device, recording can be started immediately when it is detected that some impact has been applied to the vehicle. This video data becomes useful information for exploring the cause of the impact.

[0025] (5) It is preferable that the recording device stores duration information for designating the duration for which the power-on state is continued even after it is detected that the first state has been reached, and after the period designated by the duration information has elapsed from the time when it is detected that the first state has been reached, the power is turned off.

[0026] If a request for recording start is made before the period specified by the duration information has elapsed, recording can be started with a short delay. Also, after the period specified by the duration information has elapsed, power consumption can be suppressed by turning off the power.

[0027] The duration information may be stored in a removable recording medium attached to the recording device, and the recording device may be configured to read the duration information from the removable recording medium.

[0028] After the recording device detects that the vehicle has entered the first state, the recording device may continue recording until the period specified by the duration information has elapsed. Particularly when sufficient storage capacity is ensured in the medium for recording video data, it is advisable to continue recording in this manner. This allows video information useful for analyzing the causes of accidents or abnormalities that occurred after the vehicle entered the first state to be retained.

[0029] The duration information may be specified by the elapsed time from the point in time when the detection of the first state occurred. Until a certain specified time has elapsed after the driver turns off the main switch, it is possible to maintain a state where recording can be started immediately or a state where recording is continuing.

[0030] Alternatively, the duration information may be specified by the time when the powered-on state ends. For example, as the duration information, the end time of the working hours at the workplace where the vehicle is operating (e.g., 7 p.m. in the evening) may be specified. In this case, during the working hours, a state where the recording device can start recording immediately or a state where recording is continued is maintained. The recording device may be equipped with a clock representing the current time. The power supply for this clock may be supplied from the vehicle's +B power supply or a built-in battery.

[0031] The recording device may have a function of specifying the start time of the period during which the power-on state is maintained. The recording device may have a function of turning on the power when the specified start time is reached. In this case, when the driver turns on the main switch after the specified start time has passed, recording can be started immediately with a short delay time. It is advisable to set the start time of the working hours at the workplace where the vehicle operates (for example, 8:00 am, etc.).

[0032] The recording device may have a function of continuing recording during the period from the time when the detection of the first state occurs until the first duration has elapsed, not performing recording until the second duration, which is longer than the first duration, has elapsed, maintaining the power-on state, and turning off the power when the second duration has elapsed. This makes it possible to leave video data that is likely to contain highly important information immediately after the vehicle enters the first state. By stopping recording when the second duration has elapsed, the storage area for video data can be saved.

[0033] The recording device may have a function of turning off the power from the end time specified as the duration information until the start time of the next day. In this case as well, it is advisable to keep the clock for the current time operating.

[0034] (6) It is preferable that the recording device has a lower power consumption during the period when the power-on state is continued even after the detection of the first state than during recording.

[0035] It is possible to suppress the power consumption during the period when the power-on state is continued. For example, by having a function of executing the process of reading video data from the camera but not performing the writing process to the ring buffer, the power consumption can be reduced. Or, by having a function of performing the process of reading video data from the camera and the writing process to the ring buffer but not recording the video data to a non-volatile memory such as a removable recording medium, the power consumption can be reduced.

[0036] (7) Furthermore, it is preferable to have a function of detecting whether or not the driver is seated in the driver's seat in the vehicle. Recording is performed during the period when the driver is seated in the driver's seat, and recording is stopped when it is detected that the driver is not seated. It is preferable to use a recording device having a function of continuing the powered-on state.

[0037] Recording is aborted when it is detected that the driver is not seated, but since the powered-on state continues, when a recording start request is made, recording can be started with a short delay time. Whether or not the driver is seated may be determined by analyzing an image obtained by a camera that photographs the driver's seat.

[0038] When stopping recording when it is detected that the driver is not seated, the recording device preferably has a function of continuing recording for a certain period from the time when it is detected that the driver is not seated and stopping recording when a certain period has elapsed. By doing so, the recorded images can be used to investigate the cause of an accident or abnormality that occurred after the driver left the driver's seat until a certain period has elapsed.

[0039] The recording device preferably has a function of continuing recording until a certain time has elapsed after detecting that the driver is not seated and stopping recording when a certain time has elapsed. Alternatively, it preferably has a function of stopping recording when the distance from the vehicle to the driver exceeds a determination threshold value. When the recording device detects the driver's seating, it preferably has a function of resuming recording or continuing recording.

[0040] The recording device preferably includes a camera that photographs the surroundings of the vehicle. As this camera, it is preferable to use a hemispherical camera mounted downward. When the vehicle is a forklift, the viewing angle of this camera preferably includes the range for checking whether or not the goods are normally loaded during the loading and unloading operation. Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a camera that photographs the rear of the vehicle. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether there is a driver or other person behind the vehicle.

[0041] It may be appropriate to include the distance from the vehicle to the driver as a criterion for determining whether to continue the power-on state. Alternatively, it may be appropriate to include whether a person has been detected near the vehicle as a criterion. The recording device may have a function of continuing recording when a driver or other person is detected near the vehicle. The video data obtained at this time will be useful information for investigating the cause of an accident if any accident occurs to a person near the vehicle. As a criterion for determining whether it is near the vehicle, it is advisable to store a determination threshold for the distance from the vehicle to the person in the recording device.

[0042] (8) The vehicle is used in a workplace where a plurality of reference marks are installed. It is advisable to use a recording device that further has a function of obtaining the speed of the vehicle by analyzing an image in which the reference mark is reflected.

[0043] Since the vehicle speed can be obtained from the information acquired by the recording device, it is possible to obtain the vehicle speed without installing a dedicated sensor or the like for detecting the vehicle speed. To obtain the vehicle speed, it is advisable to photograph the reference mark with a stereo camera, measure the distance from the obtained image to the reference mark, and obtain the vehicle speed from the change in distance over time. It is determined whether a common reference mark is reflected in the images taken by two cameras mounted on the vehicle. If a common reference mark is reflected, it is advisable to calculate the distance from the two images acquired by the two cameras. For example, as the two cameras, it is advisable to use a hemispherical camera installed in front of the driver's seat and a wide-angle camera that photographs the rear of the driver's seat.

[0044] It is advisable to obtain the distance to the reference mark from the size of the image of the reference mark with a known size. The vehicle speed may be obtained from the change in this distance over time. As the reference mark, a shape such as a circle or a sphere whose reference length does not change when viewed from any direction as long as the distance is constant may be used. As the reference mark, lighting fixtures or the like attached to the ceiling of a warehouse may be used. A plurality of lighting fixtures are installed at equal intervals, and the interval between the lighting fixtures may be used as the reference length.

[0045] In addition, the position of the vehicle may be determined using a GPS receiver mounted on the vehicle, and the vehicle speed may be determined from the change in this position over time. To determine the vehicle speed, a Doppler sensor may be mounted on the vehicle. Alternatively, a sensor for detecting the rotational speed of the tire may be mounted. A distance measuring device using light called LIDAR may be mounted on the vehicle. When LIDAR is mounted on the vehicle, it is advisable to scan the laser light for distance measurement to create a map of the work area where the vehicle operates.

[0046] (9) Furthermore, it is advisable to use a recording device equipped with a function of photographing the floor or ground around the vehicle and a function of detecting the optical flow of the photographed floor or ground and determining the speed of the vehicle based on the detection result.

[0047] The relative speed of the vehicle with respect to the floor or ground can be determined. It is possible to calculate not only the translational movement speed of the vehicle but also the rotational speed of the rotational movement. For example, if the distance from the camera to the floor is known and the optical flow (number of pixels moved in a certain time) of the feature points on the floor is known, the relative speed of the camera with respect to the floor can be obtained. It is advisable to arrange reference marks in a row and use the reference marks as feature points of the optical flow.

[0048] In particular, a camera (e.g., a wide-angle camera) for photographing downward from the ceiling side of the forklift may be provided to photograph the forklift body, the driver, and the floor or ground around the vehicle body. When the forklift moves relative to the floor or ground, the moving direction and speed can be determined from the optical flow of the texture (patterns of asphalt or concrete, small stones, tape, corrugated cardboard arranged around, etc.) of the floor or ground around the forklift.

[0049] The forklift can only perform rotational movement while staying at the same location without translational movement. For example, when the forklift rotates, an arc-shaped optical flow can be obtained around the rotation axis. The camera may be installed such that the center of rotation when performing this rotational movement coincides with the center of the camera's image. If the center of the camera's image does not coincide with the center of rotation, it may be equipped with a function to substantially align the image center with the center of rotation by calibration. Similarly, when using a hemispherical camera as the camera, the camera may be installed in the same way. By installing the camera in this way, the rotation of the forklift can be easily detected.

[0050] When the aspect ratio of the camera image is not 1:1, for example, when using a general camera with a rectangular shooting area, the camera may be installed such that the front-rear direction of the forklift corresponds to the longitudinal direction (long side direction) of the shooting area and the left-right direction corresponds to the width direction (short side direction) of the shooting area.

[0051] For example, when turning left while moving forward, the speed vector on the right side of the forklift is larger than the speed vector on the left side. The video data viewer may be equipped with a function to display the optical flow itself with an arrow or the like and display the speed numerically for each part of the vehicle body such as the left side and the right side of the vehicle body.

[0052] The optical flow of the feature points on the floor or ground, objects placed on the floor or ground, etc. is opposite to the moving direction of the forklift. For example, it may be displayed with an arrow or the like that can distinguish the starting point and the ending point of the optical flow, and the starting point and the ending point may be opposite to the direction of the optical flow. By displaying in this way, the moving direction of the forklift can be intuitively grasped by looking at the arrow or the like displayed on the display screen. In particular, it may be displayed with the intersection position of the sides of the outer shape of the forklift body in plan view as the starting point of the arrow. For example, when the outer shape of the forklift body is displayed as substantially rectangular, the four vertices of the rectangle may be used as the starting points of the arrows.

[0053] In the range where the inside of the forklift cab is reflected, since people, the steering wheel, operation levers, etc. are also reflected, it is preferable for the viewer to have a function of detecting the optical flow of the movement of people. The viewer is preferably provided with a function of recognizing the movement of people, etc., distinct from the optical flow of the forklift itself. For example, it is preferable to be able to distinguish and recognize an arrow indicating the movement of a person and an arrow indicating the movement of the forklift. For example, it is preferable to represent the movement of a person with a green arrow and the movement of the forklift with a blue arrow. The optical flow of the movement of people can be used, for example, for determining the normality of operations, whether a pointing call is being made while changing the direction of the head, etc.

[0054] It is preferable for the recording device to have a function of calculating the average speed of the forklift by synthesizing the optical flow.

[0055] When there are moving objects such as people or automated guided vehicles (AGVs) around the forklift, an optical flow will partially occur in the moving image. It is preferable to have a function of excluding such partially occurring optical flow from the target for speed calculation. That is, for the optical flow that occurs only in a part around the forklift, it is preferable to perform the process of calculating the vehicle speed assuming that it is not generated by the movement of the forklift.

[0056] When playing back the video with the viewer, it is preferable to display the optical flow that occurs only in a part, distinguishing it from the optical flow due to the movement of the forklift. For example, it is preferable to display the arrow indicating the optical flow that occurs only in a part and the arrow indicating the optical flow due to the movement of the forklift in different colors. By doing so, it is possible to easily recognize the movement of a person moving near the forklift. For example, it is preferable to be equipped with a function of displaying the movement of the forklift with a blue arrow and the optical flow that occurs only in a part of the image around the forklift as the movement of a person moving around the forklift with a red arrow.

[0057] The video viewer may be implemented by a personal computer application program (PC application), a smartphone application program (smartphone app), or the like. Alternatively, a display device may be provided in a recording device mounted on a forklift, and the recording device may be provided with the function of the viewer. Further, a function of warning of abnormalities in the movement of the forklift, abnormalities in operation or the driver, the presence of a person around the forklift being dangerous, etc. may be provided using optical flow. The abnormality in the movement of the forklift may be detected by, for example, whether the magnitudes of the translational speed and rotational speed obtained from the optical flow corresponding to the movement of the forklift are abnormal. The abnormality in operation or the driver may be detected by, for example, determining whether the driver is following driving rules such as pointing and calling.

[0058] The peripheral area of the forklift is divided into a nearby area (first area) where people and the like do not enter during normal operation and a slightly farther area (an area farther from the first area among the peripheral areas) where people and the like may enter, and the optical flow within the first area may be adopted as the optical flow that serves as the basis for calculating the moving speed of the forklift.

[0059] (10) The vehicle is a forklift equipped with a mast with a variable tilt angle and forks that move up and down along the mast, A recording device further provided with a marker camera attached to photograph a plurality of markers provided on the mast, and having a function of analyzing an image in which the plurality of markers are captured to obtain the tilt angle of the mast.

[0060] When the fork is displaced from the horizontal state during the delivery of the load, it may lead to accidents such as the load falling off. The posture of the fork changes by varying the tilt angle of the mast to which the fork is attached so as to be movable up and down. In this video recording device, by obtaining the tilt angle of the mast, it is possible to determine whether the posture of the fork is normal. By attaching a plurality of markers to the mast and detecting the positions of the markers in the image, information regarding the tilt angle of the mast can be easily obtained. The driver can safely perform the delivery of the load by confirming that the tilt angle of the mast with respect to the horizontal plane is a right angle, that is, the fork is horizontal. Since the camera is attached to the vehicle body instead of the movable parts such as the mast and the fork, damage to the camera during operation can be suppressed.

[0061] It is preferable that the video recording device has a function of obtaining the lifting speed of the fork from the optical flow of the marker attached to the fork by attaching a marker to the fork as well. The marker camera may be attached at a position where it can photograph the mast from the lateral direction. For example, the marker camera for photographing the left mast may be attached to a support on the right side of the vehicle body or the like.

[0062] (11) A main unit including an electronic circuit board, a housing that houses the electronic circuit board, and a lid that closes an opening of the housing, A camera, A first cable that electrically connects the camera and the main unit and a video recording device having the same would be preferable.

[0063] The main unit can be attached at a location different from the attachment location of the camera. Conversely, the camera can be attached at a desired location according to the range to be photographed without being restricted by the attachment location of the main unit.

[0064] (12) A media opening is provided in the housing, The main unit has a media mounting portion for mounting a removable recording medium through the media opening, A waterproof lid of a waterproof structure for closing the media opening, and a security measure lid having a structure that closes the media opening outside the waterproof lid and can be opened and closed using a corresponding specific tool It is preferable to use a video recording apparatus having these components.

[0065] By ensuring the waterproofness of the media opening, an excellent effect is obtained in that the removable recording medium is less likely to be damaged by theft. For example, an SD card may be used as the removable recording medium. The "specific tool" means a tool other than a general screwdriver or a Phillips screwdriver. For example, it is preferable to fix the security measure lid with a Torx screw and use a Torx driver as the specific tool.

[0066] As the waterproof lid, for example, a packing made of an elastic material such as rubber may be used. For example, a circumferential groove may be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the media opening, and the waterproof lid may be attached by fitting the outer peripheral portion of the waterproof lid into this groove.

[0067] A long hole is provided in the security measure lid, a special screw such as a Torx screw is passed through the long hole, and the security measure lid is slid in the longitudinal direction of the long hole and tightened in a state where the media opening is closed, so that the security measure lid is fixed to the housing. It is preferable to configure the security measure lid to be freely rotatable around the location of the special screw by loosening the special screw and sliding the security measure lid. With the security measure lid rotated to open the media opening, insertion and removal of the removable recording medium are possible. Since the media opening can be opened simply by loosening the special screw, it is possible to avoid the security measure lid from falling off.

[0068] Whether or not to attach the security measure lid may be an option that can be determined by the user. When using the video recording apparatus in an environment where security considerations are not necessary, the user can choose not to use the security measure lid.

[0069] As a security measure cover, it is preferable to make the flat plate into an L-shaped folded shape. Block the media opening in the flat plate portion on one side of the folding portion, and screw and fix the other flat plate portion to the surface orthogonal to the surface of the housing provided with the media opening. Depending on the location where the main unit is attached to the forklift, it may be difficult to access the surface provided with the media opening. In such a case, it is possible to access the surface orthogonal to the surface provided with the media opening and easily fix the security measure cover.

[0070] With the waterproof cover attached to the media opening, it is preferable to provide a convex handle on the waterproof cover that protrudes outward from the opening surface of the media opening. Provide an opening in the security measure cover and protrude this handle to the outside through the opening of the security measure cover. Due to the elasticity of the waterproof cover, it is preferable to configure so that the waterproof cover and the security measure cover do not easily separate. Even when the screw fixing the security measure cover is removed, since the security measure cover is supported by the housing via the waterproof cover, it is possible to suppress the security measure cover from falling off.

[0071] The insertion depth of the removable recording medium into the housing should be such that it can be pushed in with the pad of the thumb. For example, with the removable recording medium inserted into the media opening, make the removable recording medium protrude about 0.4 mm from the opening surface of the media opening, and complete the installation by pushing the removable recording medium with the pad of the thumb.

[0072] (13) A driven component driven by the electronic circuit board is attached to the cover, a second cable electrically connects the electronic circuit board and the driven component, a string connects the housing and the cover, and with the cover separated from the housing until the string is taut, it is preferable to provide a recording device that maintains the second cable in a slack state.

[0073] Even if the cover is removed and moved away from the housing, no large tension is applied to the second cable, so damage such as disconnection of the second cable can be suppressed. The driven component is, for example, a speaker or the like. When there is no room to attach a speaker to the housing, it is advisable to attach the speaker to the cover. Also, generally, the housing is attached to the vehicle body in a posture where the cover faces a wide space so that the cover can be easily removed. When a speaker is attached to the cover, the speaker faces a wide space, ensuring good sound radiation characteristics.

[0074] A clamp for the cable may be provided on the cover, one end of a relatively thick cable may be fixed with this clamp, the other end may be connected to the housing side, and the speaker and the thick cable may be connected with a relatively thin cable. If the thick cable has sufficient mechanical strength, the string may be omitted. In this case, the thick cable has the function of electrically connecting the speaker and the circuit on the housing side and preventing the cover from falling.

[0075] (14) The main unit includes a partition member that partitions a space for accommodating the electronic circuit board and a space for accommodating a battery that serves as a power source for the clock provided on the electronic circuit board. A battery connector connected to the battery is mounted on the electronic circuit board. In a state where the cover is opened, the electronic circuit board is arranged on the back side of the partition member, and the space for accommodating the battery is arranged on the front side of the partition member. It is advisable to use a video recording device.

[0076] The battery can be easily replaced while maintaining a state where it is difficult to access the electronic circuit board. Usually, the electronic circuit board is maintained in a state where it cannot be easily accessed by the user. For this reason, in a structure where the battery is directly fixed to the electronic circuit board, the user cannot replace the battery. When the battery is depleted and needs to be replaced, it is necessary to contact the maintenance personnel of the device or bring the main unit to the maintenance department of the device. In this video recording device, the user can replace the battery himself while maintaining a state where it is difficult to access the electronic circuit board. Therefore, the convenience for the user is improved.

[0077] For example, even if the user opens the lid that closes the opening of the housing, the partition member may be used to prevent the user from seeing areas other than the battery connector on the electronic circuit board.

[0078] The partition member may be provided with a recess for accommodating the battery, and the battery may be accommodated in the recess. A structure in which a plurality of electronic circuit boards are stacked may be adopted. Relatively tall components may be mounted on the relatively lower substrate, and only relatively short components may be mounted on the uppermost substrate. With such a configuration, an arrangement can be adopted that reduces the height difference between the bottom of the recess for the battery and the surface of the uppermost substrate on which the battery connector is mounted. By adopting this arrangement, the user can access the battery connector more easily compared to an arrangement in which the battery connector is provided at a deep position.

[0079] Also, a fuse may be mounted on the electronic circuit board, and a structure may be adopted that allows the user to access the fuse mounting portion. For example, a hole may be formed in the inner case of the fuse mounting portion so that the fuse can be replaced using a thin-tipped tool such as a radio screwdriver.

[0080] (15) The housing is provided with a cable opening and a preliminary hole with a waterproof structure. A plurality of connectors for connecting to a cable are provided inside the housing. The tube is attached to the housing so that the internal and external spaces of the housing are connected through the internal space of the cable opening and the tube. The attachment location of the tube has a waterproof structure. A recording device may be used in which a cable connected to some of the connectors is drawn out from inside the housing to the outside through the cable opening and the internal space of the tube.

[0081] The cable can be inserted into the housing through the opening for the cable and the internal space of the tube and connected to the connector. The number of cables to be connected varies depending on whether or not various optional functions of the recording device are used. When the number of cables to be connected increases, the cable can be drawn out through the spare hole. When configured to draw out the cable from two locations on the housing, the effect that the routing of the cable inside the housing becomes easy can be obtained. Since the spare hole has a waterproof structure, the waterproofness of the housing can be maintained even when the cable is not drawn out through the spare hole.

[0082] As the spare hole, it is preferable to adopt a knock hole with a waterproof structure. Alternatively, as the spare hole, it is preferable to adopt an opening and a packing with a waterproof structure for closing the opening. When a high-strength material that is difficult to open a knock hole is used as the material of the housing, it is effective to make the spare hole a structure composed of an opening and a packing.

[0083] The tube is preferably formed of an elastic material such as silicone. By tightening the tube with a tightening string, a tie wrap, etc. with the cable passed through the tube, the intrusion of water into the housing can be suppressed. When the cross-sectional area of the tube increases, it becomes difficult to suppress the intrusion of water. When the cable drawing-out positions from the housing are set to two and two tubes are arranged, the cross-section of each tube can be made small. Therefore, even when the number of cables increases, it does not become difficult to suppress the intrusion of water.

[0084] When the number of cables is small, it is advisable to keep the spare hole closed without opening it. Thereby, a sufficient waterproof function can be maintained.

[0085] It is advisable to make the wireless LAN module a separate body from the main unit and connect the main unit and the wireless LAN module with a cable. When the wireless LAN module is housed in the main unit, the main unit and the wireless LAN antenna must be connected with an antenna cable. If the antenna cable is made thinner, the attenuation becomes larger, and an expensive antenna cable must be used to suppress the attenuation. Since the main unit and the LAN module can be connected with a USB cable or the like that is cheaper than the antenna cable, cost reduction can be achieved.

[0086] It is advisable to describe the name of the cable to be connected near each of the plurality of connectors inside the housing. For example, it is advisable to attach a seal with the name described near the connector. Thereby, the user can easily identify the connector to which the cable should be connected.

[0087] (16) It is advisable to use a recording device in which both a clamping mechanism for clamping the first cable and a hole for fixing the first cable with a tie wrap are provided in the camera.

[0088] The thickness of the first cable connecting the camera and the main unit varies depending on the model of the forklift to be mounted. When a thin cable is used as the first cable, it is advisable to clamp the first cable with a clamping mechanism. When the first cable is too thick to be clamped by the clamping mechanism, it is advisable to fix the first cable with a tie wrap in the hole for the tie wrap.

[0089] The clamping mechanism is preferably formed of a resin integrally molded with the housing, and configured to clamp the first cable by elastically deforming the resin. When fixing the first cable using a tie wrap, it is advisable to cut off and remove the resin clamping mechanism from the housing.

[0090] (17) A function of acquiring a plurality of video files of videos respectively captured by a plurality of cameras mounted on a vehicle, A function for specifying the start time point and the end time point at which the video should be cut out, and A function for cutting out the video from the start time point to the end time point specified from a plurality of video files, generating and saving one video file in a mode where the plurality of cut-out videos are synchronized on the time axis and can be viewed simultaneously It is preferable to use a vehicle information processing device having such functions.

[0091] Without performing the complicated procedure of playing a plurality of video files while synchronizing them temporally, it is possible to view substantially the same content as when playing a plurality of video files by simply playing one video file. Among the plurality of video files, it is preferable that the vehicle information processing device has a function for specifying the start time point and the end time point at which the video should be cut out while playing one of the video files. Thereby, the start time point and the end time point of one video file to be generated can be easily set. For example, one video file obtained by combining a plurality of video files is convenient to be brought into an educational site and used for educational purposes.

[0092] The plurality of video files and the combined one video file are preferably, for example, avi files. Also, these video files are preferably video-based compressed files. The video of the combined one video file is preferably one in which the videos of a plurality of video files are arranged within one screen. For example, it is preferable to use a video in a picture-in-picture format, a side-by-side format, a format arranged in a matrix, etc.

[0093] Since they are created as a plurality of video files at the time of recording, the way of combining them can be freely determined when combining them into one video file. For example, a particularly important video can be displayed large within the screen, and a video with a lower importance can be displayed small. Which video file's video is important can be determined at the time of creating one video file.

[0094] (18) A function for allowing a part of the area within the image to be specified from a video file composed of a circular image obtained by shooting with a 360-degree camera, and A function to expand a specified area and generate a video file consisting of rectangular images, and it is preferable to use a vehicle information processing device further provided with

[0095] The video file consisting of rectangular images can be played using a general video playback program. It is preferable to have a function to specify an area to be expanded into a normal rectangular image while playing the video with a program capable of playing the video acquired by a 360-degree camera. For example, during the playback of a video file acquired by a 360-degree camera, it is preferable to have a function to specify the area currently displayed on the screen as the area to be expanded into a rectangular image. It is preferable to have a function to save the video file consisting of rectangular images as an avi file.

[0096] When a plurality of cameras are mounted on a vehicle and one of them is a 360-degree camera, it is preferable to have a function to generate one video file using the function of (17) based on the video file consisting of rectangular images generated by expanding a part of the image of the video file acquired by the 360-degree camera and the video file acquired by another camera.

[0097] (19) A function to create a map of the workplace based on information acquired at the workplace where the vehicle operates, and A function to detect that a situation corresponding to a near-miss case has occurred with respect to the vehicle operating at the workplace, and A function to create a near-miss map associating the map and the location where the near-miss case occurred it is preferable to use a vehicle information processing device further provided with

[0098] The near-miss map becomes useful information for reducing accidents at the workplace. For creating the map, it is preferable to use, for example, LIDAR or the like. The occurrence of a situation corresponding to a near-miss case is preferably detected based on the measurement results of an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, etc. mounted on the vehicle. In addition, it is preferable to detect the occurrence of a situation corresponding to a near-miss case by analyzing the video information acquired by a camera mounted on the vehicle.

[0099] The location information of the point where a near miss incident occurred may be obtained, for example, from a GPS receiver mounted on the vehicle. The position on the near miss map may be associated with the latitude and longitude information.

[0100] (20) A vehicle having switching means for supplying power to the electrical system by turning it on and stopping the supply of power to the electrical system by turning it off, a function of obtaining the time information when the switching means is on, and a vehicle information processing apparatus further having a function of issuing an alarm based on the cumulative time of the time when the switching means is on may be used.

[0101] When the vehicle is an electric forklift, the remaining life of the in-vehicle battery can be predicted from the cumulative value of the time when the switching means is on. The user can predict the replacement time of the in-vehicle battery from the issued alarm. Also, for the user, there is an excellent effect that a plurality of electric forklifts to be managed can be collectively managed by one vehicle information collection device.

[0102] The time information when the switching means is on may be obtained from in-vehicle devices via a removable recording medium (for example, an SD card). The in-vehicle device may have a function of recording the time when the switching means is turned on and off, and vehicle identification information (vehicle ID) on the removable recording medium. In addition, the in-vehicle device and the vehicle information processing apparatus may be provided with a data communication function via a wireless LAN, and the vehicle information processing apparatus may obtain the time information when the switching means is on from the in-vehicle device via the wireless LAN.

[0103] The alarm may be issued, for example, when the cumulative time exceeds a predetermined ratio (such as 50%, 80%, 90%, etc.) of the operating life time of the in-vehicle battery. Or, an alarm may be issued every time a certain time, for example, 1000 hours, has elapsed.

[0104] (21) A function to obtain vehicle information from multiple types of vehicles, and a function to cause a display device to display different vehicle information according to the type of vehicle may be further provided in the vehicle information processing device.

[0105] Information can be collected from vehicles of different types such as automobiles and forklifts to a common vehicle information processing device, and information suitable for the type of vehicle can be displayed. For example, for an automobile, it is preferable to display GPS information (date and time information, position information, speed information, etc.), acceleration information obtained by an acceleration sensor, turn signal operation information, speed pulse information, etc. For a forklift, it is preferable to display GPS information, acceleration information obtained by an acceleration sensor, angular velocity information obtained by a gyro sensor, etc.

[0106] The type of vehicle may be recorded by an in-vehicle device on a removable recording medium, and the vehicle information processing device may read it from the removable recording medium.

[0107] (22) A vehicle information processing device may further be provided with a function to read the firmware version from a removable recording medium attached to an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and record the firmware version, and if a newer version of the firmware exists, store the newer version of the firmware in the removable recording medium.

[0108] The user can obtain the new version of the in-vehicle device firmware without determining whether a new version of the firmware has been released. The in-vehicle device reads the version of the firmware stored in the attached removable recording medium, and when a version of the firmware newer than the current firmware version is stored in the removable recording medium, it is preferable to have a function of reading the firmware from the removable recording medium and updating the firmware. If the in-vehicle device has this function, for the user, it is possible to save the trouble of updating the firmware and always operate the in-vehicle device with the new version of the firmware. After reading the firmware from the removable recording medium, the in-vehicle device preferably has a function of erasing the firmware from the removable recording medium.

[0109] When a removable recording medium with firmware written for different models is attached, the in-vehicle device preferably has a function of not performing firmware update. Also, even when a removable recording medium that was attached to an in-vehicle device of a different vehicle is newly attached, if the models of the in-vehicle devices are the same, it is preferable to have a function of performing firmware update.

[0110] It is preferable to provide a program that causes a computer to execute the functions of the vehicle information processing device described in (17) to (22) above.

[0111] The inventions shown in (1) to (22) above each have the intention to obtain rights as independent configurations. In particular, the invention of (11) may be configured without other configurations such as (1). Further, the inventions shown in (1) to (22) can be arbitrarily combined. For example, it may be configured to add at least a part of the configuration of at least one of the inventions of (2) to (16) to all or a part of the configuration of the invention shown in (1). In particular, it is preferable that the invention shown in (1) is an invention in which at least a part of the configuration of at least one of the inventions of (2) to (16) is added. Also, for example, it is preferable that the configuration described in (11) is provided with the configurations described in other items. Also, for example, it may be configured to add at least a part of the configuration of at least one of the inventions of (18) to (22) to all or a part of the configuration of the invention shown in (17). In particular, it is preferable that the invention shown in (17) is an invention in which at least a part of the configuration of at least one of the inventions of (18) to (22) is added. Also, an arbitrary configuration may be extracted from the inventions shown in (1) to (22), and the extracted configurations may be combined. The applicant of this application has the intention to obtain rights for the inventions including these configurations.

Effect of the Invention

[0112] Since the power supply remains on even after the vehicle enters the first state, when the power supply of the recording device is turned on at the time when the power supply to the electrical system of the vehicle is started or when the vehicle starts operating, various pre-preparation processes, such as charging of capacitors and initialization processing of data, are performed to start recording, so the elapsed time until recording starts becomes long. In contrast, in this recording device, when there is a recording request during the period in which the power-on state is maintained, recording can be started in a short elapsed time.

[0113] The effects of the invention of the present application are not limited to this, and the effects achieved by the components disclosed in this specification, drawings, etc. are also disclosed, and the applicant also has the intention to obtain rights for the components achieving such effects through divisional applications, amendments, etc. For example, in this specification, the parts described as "can be" are descriptions that clearly indicate the achieved effects, and even if there is no description of "can be", there are parts indicating the effects. Moreover, even without such descriptions, there are effects grasped by the said components.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0114]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 8

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Figure 10

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Figure 12

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Figure 17

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0115] [First Embodiment] With reference to FIGS. 1A to 12, the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1A is a schematic side view of an electric forklift, which is an example of a vehicle equipped with a recording device according to the first embodiment. A mast 21 is attached to the front part of the vehicle body of the forklift 20, and forks 22 move up and down along the mast 21 by the operation of the driver. Further, the mast 21 tilts forward and backward by the operation of the driver.

[0116] The forklift 20 is provided with a steering wheel 25, a main switch 26, an operation lever 27, and a pedal 28. The recording device mounted on the forklift includes a main unit 41, a camera 42, a GPS receiver 43, an acceleration sensor 44, a gyro sensor 45, and a wireless LAN module 46. The main unit 41 and the camera 42 are attached to, for example, the head guard 23 of the forklift 20. The GPS receiver 43, the acceleration sensor 44, the gyro sensor 45, and the wireless LAN module 46 are attached to, for example, the column 24 of the head guard 23.

[0117] FIG. 1B is a block diagram of the recording device 40 according to the first embodiment. The main unit 41 includes a processing unit 61, a storage unit 62, an SD card reader 63, and a speaker 64. A computer program for the processing unit 61 to realize various functions is stored in the storage unit 62. The processing unit 61 includes a microcomputer and realizes various functions by executing the program stored in the storage unit 62.

[0118] When the main switch 26 of the forklift 20 is turned on, power is supplied to the electrical system of the forklift 20, such as an electronic control unit, a traveling motor, various sensors, and lamps. In a state where power is supplied to the electrical system of the vehicle, the driver can travel and raise and lower the forks 22 by operating the operation lever 27 and the pedal 28. Further, DC power is supplied from the switch interlock power supply terminal 30 to the recording device 40.

[0119] Conversely, when the main switch 26 is turned off, power is not supplied to the electrical system of the forklift 20, and for example, even if the operation lever 27 or the pedal 28 is operated, the forklift does not move forward or backward, and the fork 22 does not move up and down. DC power is not supplied from the switch-interlocked power supply terminal 30 to the recording device 40. Note that DC power is constantly supplied from the +B terminal 29 to the recording device 40 from the battery of the forklift 20 regardless of whether the main switch 26 is on or off.

[0120] The processing unit 61 has a function of constantly recording the video captured by the camera 42 on the SD card mounted on the SD card reader 63. Further, when it is determined based on the measurement results of the acceleration sensor 44 and the gyro sensor 45 that some impact has been applied to the forklift 20 (an event has occurred), it has a function of recording the video for a predetermined period including the time when the impact was applied separately from the constant recording.

[0121] The processing unit 61 further has a real-time clock inside, and corrects the time of the real-time clock based on the current time information acquired from the GPS receiver 43. It also has a function of recording the current position information acquired from the GPS receiver 43 on the SD card together with the video. The wireless LAN module 46 performs data communication with the server of the management center via the wireless LAN.

[0122] The processing unit 61 detects that the main switch 26 has been turned off and the power supply from the switch-interlocked power supply terminal 30 has stopped. Even after it is detected that the power supply from the switch-interlocked power supply terminal 30 has stopped, the recording device 40 receives power supply from the +B terminal 29 and continues to be powered on until a predetermined time has elapsed. This predetermined time is specified by the continuous time information stored in the SD card.

[0123] When the power is turned on after the main switch 26 is turned off, the processing unit 61 reads image data from the camera 42 and writes the read image data to the ring buffer in the processing unit 61, but does not record it (does not perform video recording) on the SD card. Therefore, the power consumption of the recording device 40 during the period when the power of the recording device 40 remains on even after the main switch 26 is turned off is less than the power consumption during video recording.

[0124] When the recording device 40 detects that the main switch 26 of the forklift 20 is turned on due to the start of power supply from the switch-linked power supply terminal 30, the recording device 40 starts recording the image data on the SD card.

[0125] Next, the excellent effects of the first embodiment will be described. When the power of the recording device 40 is also turned off when the main switch 26 is turned off, and the power of the recording device 40 is turned on when the main switch 26 is turned on, when starting recording triggered by the turning on of the main switch 26, various pre-preparation processes, such as charging of capacitors and initialization processing of data, etc., are performed, so the elapsed time until the start of recording becomes long. In contrast, in the first embodiment, the power of the recording device 40 remains on even after the main switch 26 of the forklift 20 is turned off, and image data is being written to the ring buffer. Therefore, if there is a recording request during this period, for example, when the main switch 26 is turned on, recording on the SD card can be started immediately with a short elapsed time. Therefore, the period during which video data is missing can be shortened.

[0126] In the first embodiment, since the vehicle equipped with the recording device 40 is an electric forklift, the forklift 20 is equipped with a large-capacity battery. Therefore, even if power is directly supplied from the battery of the forklift 20 via the +B terminal 29 during the period when the main switch 26 is turned off, the impact on the power consumption of the battery mounted on the forklift 20 is small. Also, in a workplace where an electric forklift is introduced, charging can be performed on-site. Therefore, the process of continuing recording by receiving power from the battery mounted on the forklift 20 during the period when the main switch 26 is turned off can be easily realized particularly in an electric forklift.

[0127] In the first embodiment, the wireless LAN module 46 and the main unit 41 are connected by a USB cable. If the wireless LAN module is housed in the main unit, the main unit and the wireless LAN antenna must be connected by an antenna cable. If the antenna cable is made thinner, the attenuation becomes larger, and an expensive antenna cable must be used to suppress the attenuation. In contrast, in the first embodiment, the wireless LAN module 46 is separate from the main unit 41, and since the two are connected by a USB cable that is less expensive than an antenna cable, cost reduction can be achieved.

[0128] Next, the above-described functions will be described for a modification of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, after the main switch 26 of the forklift 20 is turned off, the recording to the SD card is stopped during the period when the power of the recording device 40 is turned on, but in this modification, the recording to the SD card is continued. Thereby, for example, a driver can record the operation of checking the load that he / she performs after turning off the main switch 26 and getting off the forklift 20. If some accident occurs during this checking operation, the video taken during the checking operation becomes useful information for identifying the cause of the accident.

[0129] On the other hand, in the first embodiment, when it is detected that the main switch 26 has been turned off, recording is stopped, so that it is possible to avoid the storage area of the SD card being consumed by video data of low importance when the main switch is off. Whether to stop recording may be determined based on the necessity of the video after the main switch 26 is turned off and the recording capacity of the SD card.

[0130] The recording device 40 according to the first embodiment has a function of continuing the powered-on state even during a period when the main switch 26 is turned off. In addition, the processing unit 61 may have a function of detecting that the forklift 20 has stopped operating, and the recording device 40 may have a function of continuing the powered-on state even during a period when the forklift 20 has stopped operating. The state where the forklift 20 has stopped operating may include, for example, a state where neither the lifting and lowering of the fork 22 nor the traveling of the vehicle is performed. The processing unit 61 may have a function of determining whether the forklift 20 has stopped operating based on the measurement result of the acceleration sensor 44.

[0131] It is preferable to determine that the state where no acceleration is generated in the forklift 20, that is, the state where only gravity and vertical resistance act on the vehicle, is the state where the forklift 20 has stopped. Even in such a state, by continuing the powered-on state of the recording device 40, recording can be started immediately when it is detected that some impact has been applied to the forklift 20. This video data becomes useful information for searching for the cause of the impact.

[0132] In the first embodiment, the recording device 40 is mounted on an electric forklift (battery forklift), but it may also be mounted on an internal combustion engine forklift, a hybrid internal combustion engine and electric forklift, or the like. In an internal combustion engine forklift, the power required for the traveling of the vehicle, the tilting operation of the mast, and the lifting and lowering operation of the fork is provided by the output from the internal combustion engine.

[0133] When the forklift 20 is an internal combustion engine forklift, the electrical system of the forklift 20 includes an electronic control unit, a cell motor, various sensors, lamps, etc. When the main switch 26 of the forklift 20 is turned off, for example, even if the operation lever is operated, neither running nor the lifting and lowering of the fork is performed, and the engine is not started. When the main switch 26 is turned on, the cell motor can be operated by operating the start key to start the engine. When the engine is started, running and the lifting and lowering of the fork can be performed by operating the operation lever. The state where the main switch 26 is turned on corresponds to, for example, the state where the accessory switch of a normal engine vehicle is turned on.

[0134] The electric power of the battery mounted on the internal combustion engine forklift is used for the cell motor for starting the internal combustion engine, sensors, the electronic control unit for the internal combustion engine, lighting, etc. When the recording device 40 is mounted on the internal combustion engine forklift, during the period when the internal combustion engine is stopped, if the state of continuously supplying power from the battery of the forklift 20 to the recording device 40 is to be maintained, the capacity of the battery of the forklift 20 is not sufficient. Therefore, it is advisable to mount an auxiliary battery for supplying power to the recording device 40.

[0135] On the other hand, in the case of an electric forklift, the power required for the running of the vehicle, the tilting operation of the mast 21, and the lifting and lowering operation of the fork 22 is provided by the output power from the battery mounted on the forklift. Therefore, the capacity of the battery mounted on the electric forklift is sufficiently larger than the capacity of the battery mounted on the internal combustion engine forklift. Therefore, when the recording device according to the first embodiment is mounted on an electric forklift, it is not necessary to mount an auxiliary battery other than the battery of the forklift 20.

[0136] In the first embodiment, after the main switch 26 of the forklift 20 is turned off and the recording device 40 is powered on, a process is executed to temporarily store the video data acquired by the camera 42 in the ring buffer of the processing unit 61, and the process of writing from the ring buffer to the SD card is not performed. For example, a process of reading video data from the camera 42 is executed, but the process of writing to the ring buffer may not be executed. Thereby, power consumption can be further reduced.

[0137] The recording is continued during the period from the time when the main switch 26 is turned off until the first duration elapses, and the recording is not performed during the period until the second duration longer than the first duration elapses. The power-on state is maintained, and the recording device 40 may have a function of cutting off the power when the second duration elapses. Thereby, it is possible to leave the video data that is likely to contain important information immediately after the main switch 26 is turned off. By stopping the recording when the second duration elapses, the storage area for the video data can be saved.

[0138] In the first embodiment, the duration information is specified by the elapsed time from the time when the main switch 26 is turned off. Alternatively, the duration information may be specified by the time when the power-on state ends. For example, as the duration information, the end time of the working hours at the workplace where the forklift 20 is operating (for example, 7 pm in the evening) may be specified. In this case, during the working hours, the recording device 40 can be maintained in a state where recording starts immediately or recording is continued. The recording device 40 may acquire the current time information from the real-time clock. The power supply for this real-time clock may be supplied from the vehicle's +B power supply or the built-in battery.

[0139] The recording device 40 may have a function of specifying the start time of the period during which the powered-on state is continued. The recording device 40 may have a function of entering the powered-on state when the specified start time is reached. In this case, if the driver turns on the main switch 26 after the specified start time, recording can be started immediately with a short delay time. It is advisable to set the start time of the working hours at the workplace where the vehicle operates (for example, 8:00 am, etc.) for this start time.

[0140] From the end time specified as the duration information until the start time of the next day, the recording device 40 may have a function of turning off the power. Also in this case, it is advisable to keep the real-time clock for the current time operating.

[0141] In another modification, the processing unit 61 has a function of detecting whether or not the driver is seated in the forklift 20. Recording is performed during the period when the driver is seated in the driver's seat, and recording is stopped when it is detected that the driver is not seated. The recording device 40 may have a function of continuing the powered-on state.

[0142] Recording is aborted when it is detected that the driver is not seated, but since the powered-on state continues, recording can be started with a short delay time when a recording start request is made. Whether or not the driver is seated may be determined by providing a camera that photographs the driver's seat and analyzing the image obtained by this camera.

[0143] The recording device 40 may have a function of continuing recording until a certain time has elapsed after detecting that the driver is not seated, and stopping recording when the certain time has elapsed. Alternatively, it may have a function of stopping recording when the distance from the forklift 20 to the driver exceeds a determination threshold value. When the recording device 40 detects the driver's seating, it may have a function of resuming recording or continuing recording.

[0144] The recording device 40 may include a camera that captures the surroundings of the vehicle. As this camera, it is preferable to use a hemispherical camera mounted downward. The angle of view of this camera may include the range for performing the operation of checking whether the luggage is properly loaded in the loading work. Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a camera that captures the rear of the vehicle. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether there is a driver or other person behind the vehicle.

[0145] The determination criterion for whether to continue the state in which the recording device 40 is powered on may include the distance from the forklift 20 to the driver. Or it may include whether a person is detected near the forklift 20 as a determination criterion. The recording device 40 preferably has a function of continuing recording when a driver or other person is detected near the forklift 20. The video data acquired at this time becomes useful information for investigating the cause of an accident when some accident occurs to a person near the forklift 20. As a criterion for determining whether it is near the forklift 20, it is preferable to store a determination threshold value of the distance from the forklift 20 to the person in the recording device.

[0146] [Camera of the recording device] Next, with reference to FIGS. 2A to 5D, the camera 42 of the recording device according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0147] FIGS. 2A to 2C are respectively a top view, a front view, and a bottom view of the camera 42, and FIGS. 3A to 3D are respectively a left side view, a front view, a right side view, and a rear view of the camera 42. FIG. 2B and FIG. 3B are the same figure. FIGS. 4A to 4C are respectively a top view, a front view, and a bottom view of the camera 42, and FIGS. 5A to 5D are respectively a left side view, a front view, a right side view, and a rear view of the camera 42. FIG. 4B and FIG. 5B are the same figure. Note that FIGS. 4A to 5D show a state in which a thinner cable is connected to the camera 42 as compared with the state shown in FIGS. 2A to 3D.

[0148] The camera 42 includes a camera case 70, a wide-angle lens 71, and a mounting member 72. The camera case 70 is provided with a clamp mechanism 73 (Figs. 5A to 5C) and a hole 74 for tie wrap.

[0149] The camera 42 is attached to the forklift 20 by screwing the mounting member 72 to a component of the forklift 20. The camera case 70 is rotatable within an angular range around one rotation axis with respect to the mounting member 72 and can be fixed at an arbitrary position within the rotatable angular range.

[0150] The thickness of the cable 75 connecting the camera 42 and the main unit 41 varies depending on the model of the forklift 20 to be mounted. When a relatively thin cable is used as the cable 75 (Figs. 4A to 5D), the cable 75 may be clamped by the clamp mechanism 73. When the cable 75 is too thick to be clamped by the clamp mechanism 73 (Figs. 2A to 3D), the cable 75 may be fixed by tie wrap to the hole 74 for tie wrap.

[0151] The clamp mechanism 73 may be formed of a resin integrally molded with the camera case 70 and configured to clamp the cable 75 by elastically deforming the resin. When fixing the cable 75 using a tie wrap, the resin-made clamp mechanism 73 may be cut off and removed from the camera case 70.

[0152] In order to connect the camera 42 and the main unit 41 with the cable 75, the main unit 41 can be attached at a location different from the attachment location of the camera 42. Conversely, the camera 42 can be attached at a desired location according to the range to be photographed without being restricted by the attachment location of the main unit 41.

[0153] [GPS Receiver of the Recording Device] Next, with reference to Figs. 6A to 6F, the GPS receiver 43 of the recording device according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0154] Figs. 6A to 6F are, respectively, a top view, a left side view, a front view, a right side view, a bottom view, and a rear view of the GPS receiver 43. A cable for connecting to the main unit 41 is drawn out from one surface of the thin rectangular parallelepiped housing of the GPS receiver 43.

[0155] [Main Unit of the Recording Device] Next, the main unit 41 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 7A to 12.

[0156] Figs. 7A to 7F are, respectively, a top view, a left side view, a front view, a right side view, a bottom view, and a rear view of the main unit 41. The main unit 41 includes a housing 79 and a lid 80. In the front view (Fig. 7C), the dimension of the housing 79 in the depth direction is smaller than the dimensions in the vertical and horizontal directions, and it is open toward the front. The depth direction of the housing 79 is referred to as the height direction. The surface facing the open portion is referred to as the bottom surface, and the surface rising from the bottom surface is referred to as the side surface. The lid 80 closes the open portion of the housing 79.

[0157] A media opening 81 for inserting an SD card is provided on one side surface of the housing 79 (the side surface appearing in the top view of Fig. 7A). Two cable openings 84, 85 for drawing out cables are provided on the other side surface of the housing 79 (the side surface appearing in the bottom view of Fig. 7E). Tubes 82, 83 are attached to the cable openings 84, 85, respectively. The space inside the housing 79 is connected to the spaces inside the tubes 82, 83 through the cable openings 84, 85, respectively. The attachment portions of the tubes 82, 83 to the housing 79 have a waterproof structure.

[0158] Cables are drawn out from inside the housing 79 to the outside through the openings 84 and 85 for cables and the interiors of the tubes 82 and 83. In the initial state, one side of one of the cable openings 85 is a knock hole with a waterproof structure and is closed. When the number of cables is small and the cables can be drawn out only from one cable opening 84, the other cable opening 85, which is a knock hole, remains closed and is sealed with the waterproof structure intact. When the number of cables is large and it is difficult to draw out all the cables from only one cable opening 84, the knock hole is opened and the cables are also drawn out from the other cable opening 85 for cables.

[0159] The lid 80 is provided with a hole 99 for allowing the sound from the speaker to pass through. This hole 99 is blocked by a waterproof speaker, and the waterproof property is maintained.

[0160] Next, the excellent effects obtained by adopting the structure shown in FIGS. 7A to 7F will be described.

[0161] Cables can be inserted into the housing 79 through the spaces inside the cable openings 84 and 85 and the tubes 82 and 83 and connected to the connectors. The number of cables to be connected varies depending on whether or not various optional functions of the recording apparatus 40 are used. When the number of cables to be connected increases, the knock hole can be opened to draw out the cables. With a configuration in which the cables are drawn out from two locations of the housing 79, an effect is obtained that the routing of the cables inside the housing 79 becomes easy. Since the knock hole has a waterproof structure, the waterproof property of the housing can be maintained even when the knock hole is not opened.

[0162] The tubes 82 and 83 are preferably formed of an elastic material such as silicone. By passing a cable through the tubes 82 and 83 and tightening the tubes with a tightening string, a tie wrap, or the like, it is possible to suppress the intrusion of water into the housing 79. When the cross-sectional area of the tubes 82 and 83 increases, it becomes difficult to suppress the intrusion of water. If two cable extraction points are provided from the housing 79 and two tubes 82 and 83 are arranged, the cross-section of each of the tubes 82 and 83 can be made smaller. Therefore, even if the number of cables increases, it does not become difficult to suppress the intrusion of water. When the number of cables is small, it is preferable to keep the knock hole closed without opening it. Thereby, a sufficient waterproof function can be maintained.

[0163] As a spare hole, instead of adopting a knock hole for a waterproof structure, it is preferable to adopt an opening and a packing for a waterproof structure that closes the opening. When a high-strength material that is difficult to open a knock hole is used as the material of the housing 79, it is effective to make the spare hole a structure composed of an opening and a packing.

[0164] FIG. 8 is a front view of the main unit 41 with the lid 80 (FIG. 7C) removed. FIG. 9A is a perspective view of the main unit 41 with the lid 80 (FIG. 7C) removed, and FIG. 9B is a perspective view of the main unit 41 with a cable connected to the connector of the main unit 41 and the lid 80 (FIG. 7C) removed.

[0165] A partition member 86 is arranged in the housing 79. The partition member 86 partitions the space in the main unit 41 into a space for accommodating an electronic circuit board and a space for accommodating a battery that serves as a power source for a clock provided on the electronic circuit board. With the lid 80 (FIG. 7C) open, the electronic circuit board is arranged on the back side of the partition member 86, and the space for accommodating the battery 88 is arranged on the front side of the partition member. A battery connector 87 is mounted on the electronic circuit board. With the lid 80 (FIG. 7C) that closes the open portion of the housing 79 removed, the user cannot see portions other than the battery connector 87 of the electronic circuit board due to the partition member 86.

[0166] The partition member 86 is provided with a recess for accommodating the battery 88, and the battery 88 is accommodated in this recess. The battery 88 is connected to a battery connector 87.

[0167] The partition member 86 further divides the space within the main unit 41 into a space 89 on the side where the tubes 82 and 83 are attached and a space 90 on the opposite side. The electronic circuit board is disposed within the space 90. The partition member 86 includes a partition wall that partitions one space 89 and the other space 90, and a plurality of connectors 91 are attached to this partition wall. A plurality of cables 92 are introduced into the space 89 through the spaces within the tubes 82 and 83 and the cable openings 84 and 85, and are connected to these connectors 91.

[0168] Next, the excellent effects obtained by adopting the structure of the main unit 41 shown in FIGS. 8 to 9B will be described.

[0169] By adopting the structure of the main unit 41 shown in FIGS. 8 to 9B, the battery 88 can be easily replaced while maintaining a state where it is difficult to access the electronic circuit board. Usually, the electronic circuit board is maintained in a state where it is not easily accessible to the user. For this reason, in a structure where the battery is directly fixed to the electronic circuit board, the user cannot replace the battery. When the battery is depleted and needs to be replaced, it is necessary to contact the maintenance personnel of the device or bring the main unit to the maintenance department of the device. In the video recording device 40 according to the first embodiment, the user can replace the battery 88 himself while maintaining a state where it is difficult to access the electronic circuit board. Therefore, the convenience for the user is improved.

[0170] Next, a modification of the structure of the main unit 41 shown in FIGS. 8 to 9B will be described. It is advisable to adopt a structure in which multiple electronic circuit boards are stacked, mount relatively tall components on the relatively lower board, and mount only relatively low components on the topmost board. With such a configuration, it is possible to adopt an arrangement that reduces the height difference between the bottom of the recess for the battery and the surface of the topmost board on which the battery connector 87 is mounted. By adopting this arrangement, the user can access the battery connector 87 more easily compared to an arrangement where the battery connector 87 is provided at a deep position.

[0171] Also, it is advisable to mount a fuse on the electronic circuit board and adopt a structure that allows the user to access the fuse mounting part. For example, a hole may be made in the inner case of the fuse mounting part so that the fuse can be replaced using a thin tool such as a radio screwdriver.

[0172] It is advisable to write the name of the cable 92 to be connected near each of the plurality of connectors 91 in the housing 79. For example, a label with the name written may be attached near the connector 91. This allows the user to easily identify the connector 91 to which the cable 92 should be connected.

[0173] [Media Opening of the Main Unit of the Recording Device] Next, the media opening 81 of the main unit 41 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10B.

[0174] FIGS. 10A and 10B are perspective views of the media opening 81 in a closed state and an open state. A media mounting part for mounting an SD card through the media opening 81 is provided on the electronic circuit board. The media opening 81 is doubly closed by a waterproof lid with a waterproof structure and a security countermeasure lid 93 that closes the media opening on the outside of the waterproof lid. A Torx screw 94 is inserted into the screw hole of the housing 79 through the long hole provided in the security countermeasure lid 93.

[0175] When the torque screw 94 is loosened, the security cover 93 can be slid along the side surface of the housing 79 in the longitudinal direction of the long hole and rotated about the torque screw 94. When the security cover 93 is fitted into the stopper 95 provided on the housing 79 and the torque screw 94 is tightened, the security cover 93 is fixed to the housing 79. When the torque screw 94 is loosened to slide the security cover 93 and separate it from the stopper 95, the security cover 93 can be rotated. When the security cover 93 is rotated, the media opening 81 is exposed.

[0176] As the waterproof cover, a packing made of an elastic member such as rubber is used. A circumferential groove is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the media opening 81, and the waterproof cover is attached by fitting the outer peripheral portion of the waterproof cover into this groove. When the security cover 93 is rotated to open the media opening 81 and the waterproof cover is removed, the SD card can be inserted and removed.

[0177] Next, the excellent effects obtained by adopting the structure shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B will be described.

[0178] To open the security cover 93, a torque driver is required, and the security cover 93 cannot be opened with a general plus driver or minus driver. For this reason, an excellent effect that the SD card is less likely to be stolen can be obtained. Since the media opening 81 can be opened only by loosening the torque screw 94, the security cover 93 can be prevented from falling off. Furthermore, the waterproofness of the media opening 81 can be ensured by the waterproof cover.

[0179] Whether to attach the security cover 93 or not may be an option that the user can decide. When using the recording device 40 in an environment where security considerations are not necessary, the user can choose not to use the security cover 93.

[0180] The insertion depth of the SD card into the housing 79 should be such that it can be pushed in with the pad of the thumb. For example, with the SD card inserted into the media opening 81, the SD card should protrude about 0.4 mm from the opening surface of the media opening 81, and the card should be pushed in with the pad of the thumb to complete the installation.

[0181] Next, with reference to FIGS. 11A to 11B, another configuration example of the media opening 81 of the main unit 41 according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0182] FIGS. 11A and 11B are perspective views of the media opening 81 in a closed state. As the security cover 93, a flat plate bent into an L-shape is used. The media opening 81 is closed by the flat plate portion on one side of the bending portion, and the other flat plate portion is screwed and fixed to the bottom surface orthogonal to the side surface where the media opening 81 is provided with a Torx screw 94.

[0183] With the waterproof cover attached to the media opening 81, a convex handle 96 protruding outward from the opening surface of the media opening 81 is provided on the waterproof cover. An opening is provided in the security cover 93, and this handle 96 protrudes to the outside through the opening of the security cover 93. Due to the elasticity of the waterproof cover, the waterproof cover and the security cover 93 are configured not to easily separate.

[0184] Next, the excellent effects obtained by adopting the structure of FIGS. 11A and 11B will be described.

[0185] Depending on the location where the main unit 41 is attached to the forklift 20, it may be difficult to access the surface where the media opening 81 is provided. In such a case, it is possible to easily fix the security cover 93 by accessing the bottom surface orthogonal to the side surface where the media opening 81 is provided. Note that it is not necessary for the side surface where the media opening 81 is provided and the bottom surface to which the security cover 93 is fixed with the Torx screw 94 to be orthogonal. Similar excellent effects can be obtained even in a positional relationship where the two intersect.

[0186] Even when the Torx screw 94 fixing the security cover 93 is removed, the security cover 93 is supported by the housing 79 via the waterproof cover, so that the security cover 93 can be prevented from falling off.

[0187] [Housing and Cover of the Main Unit of the Recording Device] Next, with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, the configuration related to the housing 79 and the cover 80 of the main unit 41 of the recording device 40 according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0188] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the state where the cover 80 of the main unit 41 is removed from the housing 79. A speaker 64 is attached to the cover 80. The speaker 64 is electrically connected to the electronic circuit board in the housing 79 via a cable 98. The housing 79 and the cover 80 are mechanically connected by a string 97. The lengths of the string 97 and the cable 98 are adjusted so that the cable 98 becomes slack in a state where the cover 80 is moved away from the housing 79 until the string 97 is taut. For example, the string 97 is shorter than the cable 98.

[0189] Next, the excellent effects obtained by adopting the structure of FIG. 12 will be described. Even if the cover 80 is removed from the housing 79 and moved away from the housing 79, a large tension is not applied to the cable 98, so that damage such as disconnection of the cable 98 can be suppressed. When there is no sufficient space in the housing 79 to attach the speaker 64, it is advisable to attach the speaker 64 to the cover 80. Also, generally, the housing 79 is attached to the vehicle body in a posture where the cover 80 faces a wide space so that the cover 80 can be easily removed. When the speaker 64 is attached to the cover 80, the speaker 64 faces a wide space, and good radiation characteristics of sound are ensured.

[0190] As another configuration example, a clamp for the cable 98 may be provided on the cover 80, one end of a relatively thick cable may be fixed with this clamp, the other end may be connected to the housing side, and the speaker 64 and the thick cable may be connected with a relatively thin cable. When the thick cable has sufficient mechanical strength, the string 97 may be omitted. In this case, the thick cable has a function of electrically connecting the speaker 64 and the circuit on the housing 79 side and preventing the cover 80 from falling.

[0191] FIG. 13A is a perspective view of a connection portion between the housing 79 and the string 97. A U-shaped bundling portion 110 is provided on the inner surface of the housing 79. A hollow silicone rubber string is used as the string 97. By bundling the bundling portion 110 and the string 97 together with a bundling band 111, one end of the string 97 is fixed to the housing 79.

[0192] In a state where the portal-shaped bundling part 110 is viewed from the front, a step 112 having approximately the same height as the bundling part 110 is provided on the back side of the bundling part 110. At a position corresponding to the bundling part 111 of the step 112, a retreating part 113 is provided where the stepped part retreats in a direction away from the bundling part 110. When the retreating part 113 is not provided, when the bundling band 111 is passed through the bundling part 110, the tip of the bundling band 111 abuts against the step 112, making the bundling operation complicated. In this embodiment, since the retreating part 113 is provided on the step 112, when the bundling band 111 is passed through the bundling part 110, the tip of the bundling band 111 enters the retreating part 113. When the bundling band 111 is further pushed in deeply, the tip rises due to the flexibility of the bundling band 111. Therefore, the bundling operation with the bundling band 111 can be easily performed.

[0193] FIG. 13B is a perspective view of the connection part between the lid 80 and the string 97. On the inner surface of the lid 80, a plate-shaped protrusion 120 is provided. An opening 121 is provided in the plate-shaped protrusion 120. A part of the opening 121 has a size through which the string 97 can pass with a margin, and another part of the opening 121 has a width narrower than the string 97. When attaching the string 97 to the lid 80, first pass the string 97 through the relatively larger part of the opening 121. Then, move the string 97 to the narrower part. At this time, the string 97 is compressed in the thickness direction to fit the width of the opening 121. Due to the restoring force of the string 97 made of hollow silicone rubber, a frictional force is generated between the string 97 and the edge of the opening 121. By this frictional force, the end of the string 97 is fixed to the lid 80. Thereby, the end of the string 97 can be easily fixed to the lid 80 without performing operations such as bundling.

[0194] As the string 97, in addition to the hollow silicone rubber string, a string made of a material having sufficient elasticity may be used. Also, the connection structure between the housing 79 and the string 97 (FIG. 13A) may be adopted for the connection between the lid 80 and the string 97. Conversely, the connection structure between the lid 80 and the string 97 (FIG. 13B) may be adopted for the connection between the housing 79 and the string 97.

[0195] [Vehicle speed measurement function of the recording device] Next, with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B, the vehicle speed measurement function of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. This vehicle speed measurement function becomes effective when the forklift 20 equipped with the recording apparatus 40 according to the first embodiment is used in a workplace where reference marks are installed.

[0196] FIG. 14A is a front view of the reference mark 50 installed in the workplace. The reference mark 50 has a circular outer shape and is divided into four equal sectors with a central angle of a right angle. Different colors are assigned to adjacent sectors.

[0197] FIG. 14B is a plan view of the workplace. In the workplace, a plurality of passages 51 along which the forklift 20 travels are defined. At least one reference mark 50 is installed in front of the forklift 20 traveling along the passage 51. The plurality of reference marks 50 have the same size, and the size of the reference mark 50 is stored in advance in the storage unit 62 (FIG. 1B) of the recording apparatus 40.

[0198] The processing unit 61 of the recording apparatus 40 has a function of analyzing an image in which the reference mark 50 is reflected and obtaining the speed of the forklift 20. For example, the distance to the reference mark 50 is obtained from the size of the reference mark 50 reflected in the image. The vehicle speed of the forklift 20 is obtained from the change in this distance over time.

[0199] Next, the excellent effects of the functions described with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B will be described. Since the vehicle speed can be obtained from the information acquired by the recording apparatus 40, the vehicle speed can be obtained without mounting a dedicated sensor or the like for detecting the vehicle speed. Since the outer shape of the reference mark 50 is circular, the diameter (reference length) of the reference mark 50 can be accurately obtained even when the reference mark 50 is photographed from an oblique direction.

[0200] Next, another configuration example of the vehicle speed measurement function will be described. To determine the vehicle speed, it is advisable to photograph the reference mark 50 with a stereo camera, measure the distance to the reference mark 50 from the obtained image, and determine the vehicle speed from the change in distance over time. It is necessary to determine whether the common reference mark 50 is captured in the images taken by the two cameras mounted on the vehicle. If the common reference mark 50 is captured, it is advisable to calculate the distance from the two videos obtained by the two cameras. For example, as the two cameras, it is advisable to use a hemispherical camera installed in front of the driver's seat and a wide-angle camera that photographs the rear of the driver's seat. In this case, as the reference mark 50, any shape can be used.

[0201] As the reference mark, it is advisable to use lighting fixtures or the like attached to the ceiling of the warehouse. A plurality of lighting fixtures may be installed at equal intervals, and the interval between the lighting fixtures may be used as a reference length for calculating the vehicle speed.

[0202] In addition, it is advisable to determine the position of the forklift 20 using the GPS receiver 43 mounted on the forklift 20 and determine the vehicle speed from the change in this position over time. To determine the vehicle speed, it is advisable to mount a Doppler sensor on the forklift 20. Alternatively, it is advisable to mount a sensor that detects the rotational speed of the tire. It is advisable to mount a distance measuring device using light called LIDAR on the forklift 20. When LIDAR is mounted on the vehicle, it is advisable to scan the laser light for distance measurement to create a map of the workplace where the forklift 20 operates.

[0203] [Function of obtaining vehicle speed using optical flow] Next, with reference to FIG. 15, the function of obtaining the vehicle speed using the optical flow will be described.

[0204] The recording device 40 includes a camera that photographs the floor or ground around the forklift 20, and a function of detecting the optical flow of the photographed floor or ground and determining the speed of the forklift 20 based on the detection result.

[0205] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image 55 taken by a camera. The vehicle body of the forklift 20 and the forks 22 are reflected in the central part of the image 55. The floor or ground 56 is reflected around it.

[0206] With this function, the relative speed of the forklift 20 with respect to the floor or ground 56 can be obtained. It is also possible to calculate not only the translational movement speed of the forklift 20 but also the rotational speed of the rotational movement. For example, if the distance from the camera to the floor or ground 56 is known and the optical flow (the number of pixels moved in a certain time) of the feature points of the floor or ground 56 is known, the relative speed of the camera with respect to the floor or ground 56 can be obtained. It is advisable to arrange reference marks in a row and use the reference marks as the feature points of the optical flow.

[0207] In particular, a camera (for example, a wide-angle camera) that shoots downward from the head guard 23 of the forklift 20 may be provided to shoot the vehicle body of the forklift 20, the driver, and the floor or ground 56 around the vehicle body. When the forklift 20 moves relatively with respect to the floor or ground 56, the moving direction and speed can be obtained from the optical flow of the texture (patterns of asphalt or concrete, small stones, tape, cardboard placed around, etc.) of the floor or ground 56 around the forklift 20.

[0208] The forklift 20 can stay at the same location without translational movement and only perform rotational movement. For example, when the forklift 20 rotates, an arc-shaped optical flow can be obtained around the rotation axis. The camera may be installed so that the center of rotation when performing this rotational movement coincides with the center of the camera image. If the center of the camera image does not coincide with the center of rotation, it is advisable to have a function to substantially make the image center coincide with the center of rotation by calibration. When using a hemispherical camera as the camera, the camera may be installed in the same way. By installing the camera in this way, the rotation of the forklift 20 can be easily detected.

[0209] When the aspect ratio of the camera image is not 1:1, for example, when using a general camera with a rectangular shooting area, the camera may be installed such that the front-rear direction of the forklift 20 corresponds to the longitudinal direction (long side direction) of the shooting area, and the left-right direction corresponds to the width direction (short side direction) of the shooting area.

[0210] For example, when turning left while moving forward, the speed vector on the right side of the forklift 20 is larger than the speed vector on the left side. The view of the video data may be provided with a function of displaying the optical flow itself with an arrow or the like and numerically displaying the speed for each part of the vehicle body such as the left side and the right side of the vehicle body.

[0211] The optical flow of the feature points on the floor or the ground 56, objects placed on the floor or the ground 56, etc. is opposite to the moving direction of the forklift 20. For example, the optical flow may be displayed with an arrow or the like that can distinguish the starting point and the ending point, and the starting point and the ending point may be set opposite to the direction of the optical flow. By displaying in this way, the moving direction of the forklift 20 can be intuitively grasped by looking at the arrow or the like displayed on the display screen. In particular, it is preferable to display the position where the sides of the outer shape of the vehicle body of the forklift 20 in plan view intersect as the starting point of the arrow. For example, when the outer shape of the vehicle body of the forklift 20 is displayed as being approximately rectangular, the four vertices of the rectangle may be used as the starting points of the arrows.

[0212] Since a person, a handle, an operation lever, etc. are also captured in the range where the inside of the vehicle body of the forklift 20 is captured, the view may be provided with a function of detecting the optical flow of the movement of the person. The view may be provided with a function of recognizing the movement of a person or the like separately from the optical flow of the forklift 20 itself. For example, it is preferable to be able to distinguish and recognize an arrow indicating the movement of a person and an arrow indicating the movement of the forklift 20. For example, the movement of a person may be represented by a green arrow, and the movement of the forklift 20 may be represented by a blue arrow. The optical flow of the movement of a person can be used, for example, for determining the normality of an operation, whether or not a pointing call is being made while changing the direction of the head, etc.

[0213] The recording device 40 may be provided with a function of calculating the average speed of the forklift 20 by integrating the optical flow.

[0214] When there are moving objects such as people or automated guided vehicles (AGVs) around the forklift 20, optical flow will partially occur in the moving image. Such partially occurring optical flow may have a function of being excluded from the object for speed calculation. That is, for the optical flow that occurs only in a part around the forklift 20, it is advisable to perform the process of calculating the vehicle speed assuming that it is not generated by the movement of the forklift 20.

[0215] When playing back the video with the viewer, it is advisable to display the optical flow that occurs only in a part separately from the optical flow due to the movement of the forklift 20. For example, the arrow indicating the optical flow that occurs only in a part and the arrow indicating the optical flow due to the movement of the forklift 20 may be displayed in different colors. By doing so, it is possible to easily recognize the movement of a person moving near the forklift 20. For example, it is advisable to be provided with a function of displaying the movement of the forklift 20 with a blue arrow and displaying the optical flow that occurs only in a part of the image around the forklift 20 as a red arrow as the movement of a person moving around the forklift 20.

[0216] The viewer of the video may be implemented by an application program on a personal computer (PC application), an application program on a smartphone (smartphone application), or the like. Alternatively, a display device may be provided in the recording device 40 mounted on the forklift 20, and the recording device 40 may be provided with the function of the viewer. Further, a function of warning, using optical flow, an abnormality in the movement of the forklift 20, an abnormality in operation or the driver, the presence of a person around the forklift 20 being dangerous, etc. may be provided. The abnormality in the movement of the forklift 20 may be detected by, for example, whether the magnitude of the translational speed or the rotational speed obtained from the optical flow corresponding to the movement of the forklift 20 is abnormal. The abnormality in operation or the driver may be detected by, for example, determining whether the driver is observing driving rules such as pointing and calling.

[0217] The peripheral area of the forklift 20 is divided into a nearby area (first area) where people or the like do not enter during normal operation and a slightly farther area (an area farther from the first area among the peripheral areas) where people or the like may enter, and the optical flow in the first area may be adopted as the optical flow that serves as the basis for calculating the moving speed of the forklift 20.

[0218] [Function of detecting the tilt angle of the mast] Next, with reference to FIGS. 16A and 16B, the function of the recording device according to the first embodiment for detecting the tilt angle of the mast will be described.

[0219] FIG. 16A is a schematic side view of the forklift 20. The fork 22 moves up and down along the mast 21 with a variable tilt angle. A plurality of markers 31 are provided on the mast 21. A marker camera 47 is attached to the support column 32 of the head guard 23. The marker camera 47 is attached to the support column 32 so that a plurality of markers 31 are within the angle of view. The processing unit 61 (FIG. 1B) of the recording device 40 has a function of analyzing an image in which a plurality of markers 31 are shown to obtain the tilt angle of the mast 21.

[0220] FIG. 16B is a diagram showing the relative positional relationship between the marker 31 and the marker camera 47. A plurality of markers 31 are provided on the mast 21 on the left side of the forklift 20, and the marker camera 47 is attached to the support column 32 on the right side. The marker camera 47 is attached to the support column 32 in a posture facing the left side of the forklift 20 and can photograph the plurality of markers 31.

[0221] Next, the excellent effects obtained by adopting the configuration shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B will be described.

[0222] If the fork 22 is displaced from the horizontal state when delivering the load, it may lead to accidents such as the load falling off. The posture of the fork 22 changes by changing the inclination angle of the mast 21 to which the fork 22 is attached so as to be movable up and down. In the recording device 40 according to the first embodiment, by obtaining the inclination angle of the mast 21, it is possible to determine whether the posture of the fork 22 is normal. By detecting the relative positional relationship of the plurality of markers 31 attached to the mast 21 within the image, information regarding the inclination angle of the mast 21 can be easily obtained. The driver can safely deliver the load by confirming that the inclination angle of the mast 21 with respect to the horizontal plane is a right angle, that is, the fork 22 is horizontal. Since the marker camera 47 is attached to the support column 32 of the vehicle body instead of movable parts such as the mast 21 and the fork 22, damage to the marker camera 47 during operation can be suppressed.

[0223] It is preferable that the recording device 40 has a function of obtaining the lifting speed of the fork 22 from the optical flow of the marker attached to the fork 22 by attaching the marker 31 to the fork 22 as well.

[0224] [Second Embodiment] Next, with reference to FIG. 17, a vehicle information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a vehicle information processing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment. The vehicle information processing apparatus 100 processes vehicle information such as moving image data acquired by a recording device 40 (FIGS. 1A and 1B) mounted on a forklift 20 and recording devices mounted on other vehicles.

[0225] The vehicle information processing apparatus 100 includes a processing device 101, a display 102, a storage device 103, a communication device 104, an SD card reader 105, a pointing device 106, and a keyboard 107. The processing device 101 includes, for example, a microcomputer and realizes various functions by executing a computer program stored in the storage device 103.

[0226] Furthermore, the processing device 101 displays the processing result on the display 102. Also, the processing device 101 displays information prompting the user to input a command or data on the display 102. The communication device 104 performs data communication with a recording device 40 or the like mounted on the vehicle. An SD card on which vehicle information is recorded by the recording device 40 (FIGS. 1A and 1B) is attached to the SD card reader 105, and the SD card reader 105 provides a function of reading vehicle information from the SD card and writing various data to the SD card. The pointing device 106 is operated by the user to move the position of a pointer displayed on the display 102 and select a button displayed on the display 102. The keyboard 107 is operated by the user to provide a function of inputting a command or data to the processing device 101.

[0227] [Moving Image File Generation Function] The processing device 101 has a function of acquiring a plurality of moving image files of moving images respectively captured by a plurality of cameras mounted on the vehicle, a function of allowing the start time point and the end time point at which the moving image should be cut out to be specified, and a function of cutting out the moving image from the start time point to the end time point specified from the plurality of moving image files, synchronizing the plurality of cut-out moving images on the time axis, and generating and storing one moving image file in a mode that can be browsed simultaneously.

[0228] With this function, without performing the complicated procedure of synchronizing and playing multiple video files over time, it is possible to view substantially the same content as when playing multiple video files by simply playing one video file generated by this function.

[0229] The processing device 101 has a function of specifying the start time point and the end time point at which a video should be cut out while playing one video file among a plurality of video files. Thereby, the start time point and the end time point of one video file to be generated can be easily set. For example, one video file obtained by combining a plurality of video files is convenient to bring into an educational site and use for educational purposes.

[0230] The plurality of video files and the combined one video file are, for example, avi files. Also, these video files are video-based compressed files. The video of the combined one video file is one in which the videos of a plurality of video files are arranged within one screen. For example, it may be a video in a picture-in-picture format, a side-by-side format, a format arranged in a matrix, or the like.

[0231] Since they are created as a plurality of video files during recording, the way of combining them can be freely determined when combining them into one video file. For example, in the combined one video file, a particularly important video can be displayed large on the screen, and a video with a low importance can be displayed small. Which video file's video is important can be determined at the time of creating one video file.

[0232] [Function to generate a video file of a rectangular image from a circular image] The processing device 101 has a function of reading a video file composed of circular images captured by a 360-degree camera and designating a partial area within the image, and a function of expanding the designated area to generate a video file composed of rectangular images.

[0233] A video file consisting of rectangular images can be played using a general video playback program. The processing device 101 has a function of specifying an area to be expanded into a normal rectangular image while playing the video with a program capable of playing the video acquired by the 360-degree camera. For example, during the playback of a video file acquired by the 360-degree camera, it may have a function of specifying the area currently displayed on the screen as the area to be expanded into a rectangular image. It may have a function of saving a video file consisting of rectangular images as an avi file.

[0234] When a plurality of cameras are mounted on a vehicle and one of them is a 360-degree camera, it may have a function of generating one video file using a video file generation function based on a video file consisting of a rectangular image generated by expanding a part of the image of the video file acquired by the 360-degree camera and a video file acquired by another camera.

[0235] [Near Miss Map Creation Function] The processing device 101 is provided with a function of creating a map of the workplace based on the information acquired at the workplace where the vehicle operates, a function of detecting that a situation corresponding to a near miss case has occurred with respect to the vehicle operating at the workplace, and a function of creating a near miss map associating the map with the location where the near miss case has occurred.

[0236] The near miss map becomes useful information for reducing accidents at the workplace. The map is created using, for example, LIDAR or the like. The occurrence of a situation corresponding to a near miss case is detected by the processing device 101 based on the measurement results of an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, etc. mounted on the vehicle. In addition, it may have a function of detecting the occurrence of a situation corresponding to a near miss case by analyzing the video information acquired by the camera mounted on the vehicle.

[0237] The location information of the point where a near miss incident occurred is obtained via an SD card by, for example, associating the location information acquired by a GPS receiver 43 mounted on a vehicle with video data and acceleration data and recording them on the SD card. The location on the near miss map is associated with latitude and longitude information. The processing device 101 identifies the point on the near miss map where the near miss incident occurred based on the location information acquired from the GPS receiver 43 and the location information on the near miss map.

[0238] [Remaining battery life prediction function] The vehicle information obtained from the vehicle includes the time information that the switching means, which supplies power to the electrical system when turned on and stops the power supply to the electrical system when turned off, is turned on in a vehicle equipped with the switching means. The processing device 101 has a function of issuing an alarm based on the cumulative time that the switching means is turned on.

[0239] When the vehicle is an electric forklift, the remaining life of the in-vehicle battery can be predicted from the cumulative value of the time that the switching means is turned on. The user can predict the replacement time of the in-vehicle battery from the issued alarm. Also, for the user, there is an excellent effect that a plurality of electric forklifts to be managed can be collectively managed by a single vehicle information collection device.

[0240] The time information that the switching means is turned on may be obtained from in-vehicle devices such as a recording device 40 via an SD card. The in-vehicle device may have a function of recording the time when the switching means is turned on and off and vehicle identification information (vehicle ID) on the SD card. In addition, the in-vehicle device and the vehicle information processing device may be provided with a data communication function via a wireless LAN, and the vehicle information processing device may acquire the time information that the switching means is turned on from the in-vehicle device via the wireless LAN.

[0241] The alarm may be issued, for example, when the cumulative time exceeds a predetermined percentage (such as 50%, 80%, 90%, etc.) of the operating life time of the in-vehicle battery. Or, the alarm may be issued every time a certain period of time, for example, 1000 hours, has elapsed.

[0242] [Vehicle information display function] The vehicle information processing device 100 has a function of acquiring vehicle information from a plurality of types of vehicles and a function of causing a display device to display different vehicle information according to the type of the vehicle.

[0243] With this function, information can be collected from different types of vehicles such as automobiles and forklifts to a common vehicle information processing device, and information suitable for the type of the vehicle can be displayed. For example, for an automobile, GPS information (date and time information, position information, speed information, etc.), acceleration information acquired by an acceleration sensor, turn signal operation information, speed pulse information, etc. may be displayed. For a forklift, GPS information, acceleration information acquired by an acceleration sensor, angular velocity information acquired by a gyro sensor, etc. may be displayed.

[0244] The type of the vehicle may be recorded by an in-vehicle device on a removable recording medium, and the vehicle information processing device may read it from the removable recording medium.

[0245] [Firmware update function of in-vehicle device] The in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle records the version of the firmware of the in-vehicle device on an SD card. The vehicle information processing device 100 has a function of reading the version of the firmware from this SD card and storing a newer version of the firmware on the SD card if a newer version of the firmware exists.

[0246] The user can obtain the new version of the in-vehicle device firmware without determining whether a new version of the firmware has been released. The in-vehicle device reads the version of the firmware stored in the inserted SD card, and if a firmware version newer than the current firmware version is stored in the SD card, it is preferable to have a function of reading the firmware from the SD card and updating the firmware. If the in-vehicle device has this function, it can save the user the trouble of updating the firmware and always operate the in-vehicle device with the new version of the firmware. After reading the firmware from the SD card, the in-vehicle device preferably has a function of erasing the firmware from the SD card.

[0247] When an SD card with firmware corresponding to different models is inserted, the in-vehicle device preferably has a function of not performing firmware update. Also, even when an SD card previously installed in an in-vehicle device of a different vehicle is newly inserted, if the models of the in-vehicle devices are the same, it is preferable to have a function of performing firmware update.

[0248] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations explicitly described in the specification, but also includes combinations of various aspects of the present invention disclosed in this specification within its scope. Among the present invention, the configuration for which a patent is sought is specified in the appended claims, but even a configuration not currently specified in the claims, if it is a configuration disclosed in this specification, has the intention of being made the subject of the claims in the future.

[0249] The invention of the present application is not limited to the configurations described in the above-described embodiments. The constituent elements of each of the above-described embodiments and modification examples may be arbitrarily selected and combined. Further, any constituent element of each of the embodiments and modification examples may be arbitrarily combined with any constituent element described in the means for solving the invention or a constituent element obtained by embodying any constituent element described in the means for solving the invention. Regarding these, the intention is to obtain rights in amendments or divisional applications of the present application, etc.

[0250] Also, by filing a change application for a design application, there is an intention to obtain rights for an overall design or a partial design. Although the drawings depict the entire device with solid lines, the drawings include not only the overall design but also partial designs claimed for a part of the device. For example, not only can a part of the members of the device be a partial design, but the drawings also include partial designs of a part of the device regardless of the members, such as a part of the device as a whole or a part of such a member. As a part of the device, it may be a part of the members of the device or a part of such a member. Regarding the overall design, of course, there is an intention to obtain rights for a partial design in which an arbitrary part of the solid line portion of the drawing is made into a broken line portion.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0251] 20 Forklift 21 Mast 22 Fork 23 Head Guard 24 Support Column 25 Steering Wheel 26 Main Switch 27 Operation Lever 28 Pedal 29 +B Terminal 30 Switch-Interlocked Power Supply Terminal 31 Marker 32 Support Column 40 Recording Device 41 Main Unit 42 Camera 43 GPS Receiver 44 Acceleration Sensor 45 Gyro Sensor 46 Wireless LAN module 47 Camera for marker 50 Reference mark 51 Passageway 55 Image 56 Floor or ground 61 Processing unit 62 Storage unit 63 SD card reader 64 Speaker 70 Camera case 71 Lens 72 Mounting member 73 Clamping mechanism 74 Hole for tie wrap 75 Cable 79 Housing 80 Cover 81 Opening for media 82, 83 Tube 84, 85 Opening for cable 86 Partition member 87 Battery connector 88 Battery 89, 90 Space 91 Connector 92 Cable 93 Security measure cover 94 Torx screw 95 Stopper 96 Handle of waterproof cover 97 String 98 Cable 99 Hole 100 Vehicle information processing device 101 Processing device 102 Display 103 Storage device 104 Communication device 105 SD card reader 106 Pointing device 107 Keyboard 110 Binding part 111 Binding band 112 Step 113 Retreating part 120 Plate-like protrusion 121 Opening

Claims

1. A function of acquiring a plurality of video files of videos respectively captured by a plurality of cameras, one of which is a 360-degree camera, mounted on a vehicle; A function of allowing a part of an area in an image to be specified from a video file consisting of a circular image captured by the 360-degree camera; A function of generating a video file consisting of a rectangular image by expanding the specified area; A function of allowing a start time point and an end time point at which a video is to be cut out to be specified; A function of cutting out a video from the start time point to the end time point specified from among a plurality of video files including the video file consisting of a rectangular image by expanding the specified area, and generating and storing one video file in a mode in which the cut-out plurality of videos are synchronized on a time axis and can be viewed simultaneously; A processing device comprising the above.

2. A program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the processing device according to Claim 1.

Images