In-vehicle device and management system

Abstract

To provide an in-vehicle device, management system and upload method, which allow for reducing the volume of data to be uploaded.SOLUTION: An in-vehicle device according to an embodiment is a device for uploading vehicle information including travel information on the traveling state of a vehicle and image information captured by the vehicle to an external device, and comprises a processor configured to upload the vehicle information to the external device when a travel distance of the vehicle reaches a threshold distance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device and Management System Mu Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is a management system that uploads video captured by a drive recorder installed in a vehicle to a server device. For example, in such a management system, when an impact is detected by the drive recorder, the video uploaded to the server device is sent to a preset destination (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-108351 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, all video images must be uploaded to a server device at one time, and there is room for improvement in terms of reducing the amount of data to be uploaded.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has an object to provide an in-vehicle device, a management system, and an uploading method that can reduce the amount of data to be uploaded. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the in-vehicle device of the present invention is an in-vehicle device that uploads vehicle information, including driving information regarding the vehicle's driving status and image information captured by the vehicle, to an external device, and is equipped with a processor that uploads the vehicle information to the external device when the vehicle's driving distance reaches a threshold distance. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the amount of data to be uploaded can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the management system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the upload method. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the management device. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the in-vehicle device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the in-vehicle device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of an in-vehicle device, a management system, and an upload method disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0010] First, an overview of an in-vehicle device, a management system, and an upload method according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the management system. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an overview of the upload method.

[0011] 1, the management system S according to the embodiment is a system that performs various analyses on driving, such as safe driving by a driver, eco-driving, etc. The management system S is introduced, for example, to delivery companies that provide delivery vehicles such as taxis and trucks, and other businesses that have commercial vehicles.

[0012] 1, a management system S according to the embodiment includes a management device 10 and an in-vehicle device 50. The in-vehicle device 50 is, for example, a drive recorder equipped with a communication function.

[0013] The in-vehicle device 50 uploads vehicle information including driving information relating to the driving state of the vehicle C and image information captured by the vehicle C to the management device 10. Note that the image information is, for example, information relating to an image captured in front of the vehicle C, but may also be information relating to an image captured around the vehicle C or the interior of the vehicle C (for example, the driver's seat).

[0014] The driving information is, for example, information detected by various sensors provided in the vehicle C. For example, the driving information includes the position information of the vehicle C, vehicle speed information, acceleration information, steering information, and the like.

[0015] The management device 10 evaluates the current situation of each vehicle C and the driving of the driver by analyzing the vehicle information acquired from each in-vehicle device 50. Note that, for example, the management device 10 is configured as a cloud server that provides cloud services via a network such as the Internet or a mobile phone network.

[0016] 1, the management device 10 is connected to a driver terminal 100 and an administrator terminal 200 via a network. The driver terminal 100 is a terminal owned by the driver of each vehicle C, and is a smartphone in the example shown in FIG.

[0017] The administrator terminal 200 is a terminal owned by an administrator who manages the operating status of each vehicle C, and is a notebook PC (Personal Computer) in the example shown in Fig. 1. For example, the administrator terminal 200 displays information notified from the management device 10, thereby notifying the administrator of the current status of each vehicle C, the evaluation results for each driver, etc.

[0018] An overview of information processing according to the embodiment will now be described with reference to Fig. 1. For example, the management device 10 acquires vehicle information from the in-vehicle device 50 at a predetermined interval (step S1) and analyzes the acquired vehicle information (step S2). For example, the management device 10 performs the current situation of each vehicle C and the driving evaluation of the driver based on the vehicle information.

[0019] Next, the management device 10 notifies the manager terminal 200 of the current status of each vehicle C (for example, the current location and driving route of the vehicle C) and the evaluation result regarding the driving evaluation (step S3).

[0020] For example, the management device 10 periodically performs the processes of steps S1 to S3, and notifies the driver terminal 100 of the analysis results (for example, the results of the driving evaluation) at any timing, such as when work ends (step S4).

[0021] In such a management system S, for example, when each on-board device 50 is stopped, duplication occurs in the image information that is periodically uploaded. More specifically, for example, when image information is uploaded periodically while the vehicle C is stopped or moving slowly, it is conceivable that there may be no change between the image information uploaded last time and the image information to be uploaded this time.

[0022] In such a case, the image information to be uploaded this time can be replaced with the image information uploaded previously, which means that the image information to be uploaded this time does not actually need to be uploaded.

[0023] In view of this, the uploading method according to the embodiment uploads image information according to the travel distance. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 2, in the uploading method according to the embodiment, when the travel distance of the vehicle C reaches a threshold distance Thd, a still image captured at the time the threshold distance Thd is reached is uploaded.

[0024] In the example shown in FIG. 2, still images taken at a point d1 that is a threshold distance Thd away from the current location of the vehicle C and at a point d2 that is a further threshold distance Thd away from the point d1 are uploaded.

[0025] In other words, in the uploading method according to the embodiment, by uploading still images based on the distance traveled rather than the time elapsed since the last upload, it is possible to reduce the number of duplicate still image uploads, for example.

[0026] Therefore, in the uploading method according to the embodiment, the amount of data to be uploaded can be reduced by the amount of uploading of unnecessary still images being avoided.

[0027] Next, an example of the configuration of the in-vehicle device 50 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle device 50. As shown in Fig. 3, the in-vehicle device 50 includes a communication unit 51, an imaging unit 52, a storage unit 53, and a control unit (processor) 54. The in-vehicle device 50 is also connected to a sensor group 61 and a display unit 62.

[0028] The sensor group 61 includes, for example, various sensors that detect the traveling state of the vehicle C. The sensor group 61 includes a vehicle speed sensor, a brake sensor, a steering angle sensor, an acceleration sensor, a position sensor, an obstacle detection sensor, and the like.

[0029] The display unit 62 is a touch panel display mounted on the vehicle C. For example, the display unit 62 displays an image input from the in-vehicle device 50. The display unit 62 may also have a speaker and output audio input from the in-vehicle device 50.

[0030] The communication unit 51 is realized by, for example, a network interface card (NIC), etc. The communication unit 51 is connected to a predetermined communication network so as to be able to perform two-way communication, and transmits and receives information to and from the management device 10, etc.

[0031] The imaging unit 52 includes various imaging elements and captures an image of the surroundings of the vehicle C. The in-vehicle device 50 may also be configured to include an imaging unit 52 that captures an image of the interior of the vehicle (for example, the driver).

[0032] The storage unit 53 is a storage unit configured with a storage device such as a nonvolatile memory, a data flash, or a hard disk drive, and stores various information input from the imaging unit 52 and the group of sensors 61.

[0033] The control unit 54 includes an acquisition unit 55, an upload unit 56, and a determination unit 57, and includes, for example, a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk drive, input / output ports, etc., and various other circuits.

[0034] The CPU of the computer functions as the acquisition unit 55, upload unit 56, and decision unit 57 of the control unit 54, for example, by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

[0035] The acquisition unit 55 acquires vehicle information including image information captured by the imaging unit 52 and various types of driving information input from the sensor group 61. The acquisition unit 55 also stores the acquired vehicle information in the storage unit 53. Note that the acquisition unit 55 may compress the image information and store it in the storage unit 53.

[0036] The upload unit 56 uploads the vehicle information acquired by the acquisition unit 55 to the management device 10 at a predetermined interval. For example, the upload unit 56 uploads the vehicle information at an upload timing determined by a determination unit 57, which will be described later.

[0037] The vehicle information uploaded by the upload unit 56 at each upload timing includes new driving information obtained after the previous upload and still images captured at the upload timing.

[0038] Furthermore, when requested by the management device 10, the upload unit 56 uploads vehicle information of the type and period specified by the management device 10 to the management device 10. In this case, for example, the upload unit 56 uploads video captured during the period specified by the management device 10 to the management device 10.

[0039] That is, the upload unit 56 uploads information for all periods of time for the travel information, and uploads still images taken at the upload timing for the image information.

[0040] Then, for example, when requested by management device 10, upload unit 56 uploads video for a specified period to management device 10. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of data to be uploaded compared to uploading video periodically.

[0041] However, it is possible that the vehicle information may not be uploaded at the upload timing depending on the communication environment, such as being outside of a communication range, etc. Therefore, for example, if the upload unit 56 is unable to upload the vehicle information, it may upload the information all at once at the next upload timing.

[0042] In other words, at the next upload timing, all still images that could not be uploaded may be uploaded, which makes it possible for the management device 10 to appropriately upload the minimum amount of information required.

[0043] The determination unit 57 determines the timing for uploading the vehicle information based on the mileage of the vehicle C. For example, the determination unit 57 counts the cumulative mileage of the vehicle C, and determines the timing when the cumulative mileage reaches a threshold distance thd as the upload timing.

[0044] Furthermore, when the cumulative travel distance of the vehicle C reaches the threshold distance thd, the determination unit 57 resets the count of the cumulative travel distance. That is, the in-vehicle device 50 uploads vehicle information at a distance period when the cumulative travel distance reaches the threshold distance thd.

[0045] Furthermore, for example, when vehicle C is stopped (for example, the speed is zero), the determination unit 57 determines the upload timing based on the elapsed time. In this case, for example, the determination unit 57 counts the elapsed time since the previous upload and determines the timing when a predetermined threshold time is reached as the upload timing.

[0046] That is, in this case, still images are uploaded periodically. At this time, the determination unit 57 may instruct the upload unit 56 to upload still images taken inside the vehicle C. That is, in this case, by uploading still images periodically, it is possible to notify the management device 10 of changes in the situation inside the vehicle while the vehicle is stopped (for example, the driver falling asleep, etc.).

[0047] Next, a configuration example of the management device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 4, the management device 10 according to the embodiment includes a communication unit 20, a storage unit 30, and a control unit 40.

[0048] The communication unit 20 is realized by, for example, a network interface card (NIC), etc. The communication unit 20 is connected to a predetermined communication network so as to be able to perform two-way communication, and transmits and receives information to and from the in-vehicle device 50, etc.

[0049] The storage unit 30 is a storage unit configured with a storage device such as a nonvolatile memory, a data flash, or a hard disk drive. As shown in FIG. 4, the storage unit 30 includes: It has a vehicle information database 31 and an analysis result database 32.

[0050] The vehicle information database 31 is a database that stores vehicle information acquired from each on-board device 50. The analysis result database 32 is a database that stores analysis results for the vehicle information acquired from each on-board device 50.

[0051] The control unit 40 includes an acquisition unit 41, an analysis unit 42, and a request unit 43, and includes, for example, a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk drive, input / output ports, etc., and various circuits.

[0052] The CPU of the computer functions as the acquisition unit 41, analysis unit 42, and request unit 43 of the control unit 40, for example, by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

[0053] The acquisition unit 41 acquires vehicle information of each vehicle C from each in-vehicle device 50 at a predetermined period, and also acquires vehicle information uploaded from the in-vehicle device 50 based on a request from the request unit 43, which will be described later. The acquisition unit 41 stores the acquired vehicle information in the vehicle information database 31.

[0054] The analysis unit 42 analyzes the vehicle information acquired by the acquisition unit 41. For example, the analysis unit 42 analyzes the current situation of each vehicle C or the driver. Also, for example, the analysis unit 42 evaluates the driving by the driver of each vehicle C as part of the analysis.

[0055] For example, the analysis results obtained by the analysis unit 42 are stored in the analysis result database 32 and are also notified to the administrator terminal 200 (see FIG. 1).

[0056] The request unit 43 requests vehicle information from the in-vehicle device 50 based on the analysis result by the analysis unit 42. The request unit 43 may request vehicle information of an information type and period specified by the administrator terminal 200 that notified the analysis result by the analysis unit 42 from the in-vehicle device 50, or may autonomously request vehicle information. When autonomously requesting vehicle information, for example, the request unit 43 determines whether or not the vehicle information satisfies a predetermined condition, and requests vehicle information linked to the condition from the in-vehicle device 50.

[0057] Next, a process procedure executed by the in-vehicle device 50 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are flowcharts showing the process procedure executed by the in-vehicle device 50.

[0058] First, a processing procedure of the in-vehicle device 50 when the vehicle C is traveling will be described with reference to Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 5, the in-vehicle device 50 sets the cumulative traveling distance of the vehicle C to 0 (step S101), and updates the cumulative traveling distance (step S102).

[0059] Next, the in-vehicle device 50 determines whether the cumulative travel distance has reached the threshold distance thd (step S103). If the cumulative travel distance has reached the threshold distance thd (step S103; Yes), the in-vehicle device 50 proceeds to the process of step S104, and if the cumulative travel distance has not reached the threshold distance thd (step S103; No), the in-vehicle device 50 returns to the process of step S102.

[0060] Next, the in-vehicle device 50 uploads the image taken when the cumulative travel distance reaches the threshold distance thd (step S104), resets the cumulative travel distance (step S105), and ends the process.

[0061] Next, a processing procedure of the in-vehicle device 50 when the vehicle C is stopped will be described with reference to Fig. 6. As shown in Fig. 6, the in-vehicle device 50 determines whether the stopping time of the vehicle C has reached a threshold time tht (step S111).

[0062] If the in-vehicle device 50 determines that the stopping time has reached the threshold time tht (step S111; Yes), it proceeds to processing of step S112, and if it determines that the stopping time has not reached the threshold time tht (step S111; No), it proceeds to processing of step S113.

[0063] Next, the in-vehicle device 50 uploads the still image captured when the stopping time reaches the threshold time tht (step S112), and ends the process. In addition, in step S113, the in-vehicle device 50 determines whether the vehicle C has started to move.

[0064] If the in-vehicle device 50 determines that the vehicle C has started to move (step S113; Yes), it ends the process and proceeds to the process flow in Fig. 5. If the in-vehicle device 50 determines that the vehicle C has not started to move (step S113; No), it returns to the process of step S111.

[0065] As described above, the in-vehicle device 50 according to the embodiment is an in-vehicle device that uploads vehicle information, including driving information relating to the driving state of the vehicle C and image information captured by the vehicle C, to an external device, and includes a control unit 54 (processor) that uploads the vehicle information to the external device when the driving distance of the vehicle C reaches a threshold distance. Therefore, the in-vehicle device 50 according to the embodiment can reduce the amount of data to be uploaded.

[0066] In the above-described embodiment, the management device 10 is a server or a cloud system that aggregates vehicle information from each in-vehicle device 50, but the present invention is not limited to this. Some or all of the functions of the management device 10 may be provided in the in-vehicle device 50. In other words, the management device 10 may be the in-vehicle device 50.

[0067] Although the above embodiment has been described with reference to still images, it may be a moving image, in which case short moving images may be uploaded intermittently.

[0068] Furthermore, when uploading videos periodically as a series of continuous videos, it is advisable to change the start or end timing of the videos to be uploaded according to the mileage. In this case, to reduce overlapping videos, the end timing of the videos to be uploaded should be set to the time when the change in mileage decreases and reaches 0, i.e., when the vehicle stops, in order to reduce overlapping videos. Similarly, the start timing of the videos to be uploaded should be set to the time when the change in mileage increases from 0, i.e., when the vehicle starts moving.

[0069] Further advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 10 Management device 31 Vehicle Information Database 32 Analysis results database 41 Acquisition Department 42 Analysis Department 43 Request part 50 Onboard equipment 53 Memory section 54 Control Unit 55 Acquisition Department 56 Upload Section 57 Decision Section 100 Driver terminal 200 Administrator terminal C vehicle S Management System thd threshold distance tht threshold time

Claims

1. An in-vehicle device that uploads vehicle information, including driving information relating to a driving state of a vehicle and image information captured by the vehicle, to an external device, a processor that uploads the vehicle information to an external device when the travel distance of the vehicle reaches a threshold distance; Equipped with The processor: An in-vehicle device that uploads image information of the exterior of the vehicle when the traveling distance of the vehicle reaches the threshold distance while the vehicle is traveling, and uploads image information of the interior of the vehicle when the stopping time of the vehicle reaches the threshold time while the vehicle is stopped.

2. The driving information is The vehicle position information, vehicle speed information, acceleration information, or steering information. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1 .

3. The processor: If the vehicle information cannot be uploaded at the time of uploading, the previous information is uploaded together at the next time of uploading. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. an in-vehicle device according to claim 1, 2 or 3; a management device that aggregates and manages the information uploaded from the in-vehicle devices; A management system comprising:

Images