JP6445323B2 - In-vehicle device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted device that is mounted on a vehicle and provides various driving-related information to a driver, and a camera unit provided in the device.

  Currently, various in-vehicle devices have been put into practical use for the purpose of reducing the burden other than driving by the driver.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes an ETC device. By using the ETC device, the driver can use the toll road without stopping at the toll booth and paying the staff. The ETC device includes an in-vehicle device on which an ETC card used for payment of a charge is mounted, and an antenna that performs wireless communication with a roadside device.

JP 2008-262441 A JP 2012-2567 A

  However, the vehicle-mounted device is disposed in a place where it is difficult to see from the outside, such as the inside of a dashboard in the vehicle, due to the nature of mounting the ETC card. Therefore, there is a problem that even if information related to ETC is emitted from the vehicle-mounted device, it is difficult for the driver to hear it.

  In addition to the ETC device, various in-vehicle devices are currently in practical use. Such various in-vehicle devices have suitable arrangement positions in the vehicle according to their usage. Also, the vehicle has a relatively limited space. For this reason, it is not easy to arrange a plurality of in-vehicle devices efficiently.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to realize an arrangement suitable for each of a plurality of in-vehicle devices including an ETC device, and to realize a configuration that makes it easy for the driver to hear the sound provided from the ETC device.

  A camera unit according to the present invention includes a camera that images the outside or the inside of a vehicle, a speaker that emits information related to ETC, and a housing. The housing is provided with a camera and a speaker. The housing is mounted on the windshield of the vehicle.

  In this configuration, an area to be imaged by the camera can be imaged, sound can be reliably emitted toward the driver, and an arrangement area for the vehicle can be saved.

  The camera unit casing of the present invention is further provided with an ETC antenna that performs wireless communication with the roadside device. The ETC antenna is arranged at a position different from the imaging area of the camera.

  In this configuration, since the ETC antenna is further integrated into the housing, the arrangement area for the vehicle can be further saved. Further, since the housing is mounted on the windshield, wireless communication between the ETC antenna and the roadside device can be performed stably.

  The housing of the camera unit of the present invention is provided with a GPS antenna that receives GPS signals. The GPS antenna is arranged at a position different from the imaging area of the camera.

  In this configuration, since the GPS antenna is further integrated into the housing, the arrangement area for the vehicle can be further saved. In addition, since the housing is mounted on the windshield, the GPS signal can be stably received by the GPS antenna.

  Moreover, in the camera unit of the present invention, the housing is provided with a display unit that displays in a display mode according to the content emitted by the speaker.

  In this configuration, the driver can be notified of information related to the ETC not only auditorily but also visually. At this time, since the housing is mounted on the windshield, the driver can easily obtain information on the ETC visually while driving while confirming the front.

  Moreover, the vehicle-mounted apparatus of this invention is provided with the camera unit in any one of the above-mentioned, vehicle-mounted equipment main body, and a cable. The vehicle-mounted device main body includes an ETC interface, a storage medium interface, and a control unit. The ETC interface is disposed inside the vehicle, and an ETC card is detachably attached thereto. The storage medium interface is detachably mounted with a storage medium for storing video. The vehicle-mounted device main body performs control of the main body and communication with the camera unit. The cable connects the camera unit and the vehicle-mounted device body, and includes a first transmission line that transmits an image captured by the camera and a second transmission line that transmits a sound emission control signal to the speaker. .

  In this configuration, since there is one cable connecting the camera unit and the vehicle-mounted device main body, handling is easy.

  In addition, the control unit of the in-vehicle device of the present invention reads the expiration date from the ETC card, and transmits a sound emission control signal that causes the speaker to emit the expiration date to the camera unit.

  In this configuration, the driver can confirm the expiration date of the ETC card audibly and reliably.

  Moreover, the vehicle-mounted apparatus of this invention is provided with the vibration sensor which detects the vibration of a vehicle. When the vibration sensor detects a predetermined vibration or more, the control unit transmits a sound emission control signal that causes the speaker to emit sound related to the ETC recovery operation.

  In this configuration, the driver can surely grasp the recovery operation for reconfirming the contact point between the ETC card and the ETC interface when the vehicle is vibrated.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of vehicle-mounted devices can be arranged at positions suitable for the respective vehicle-mounted devices, and the driver can surely hear the sound provided from the specific vehicle-mounted device.

The block diagram of the vehicle-mounted apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the aspect of the mounting | wearing to the vehicle of the vehicle-mounted type apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the vehicle-mounted apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the vehicle-mounted apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the vehicle-mounted apparatus which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the vehicle-mounted apparatus which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention.

  An in-vehicle device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a manner in which the vehicle-mounted device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a vehicle.

  The in-vehicle device 10 includes a camera unit 20, an in-vehicle device body 30, and a cable 40.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the camera unit 20 includes a camera 201, a sound emission control unit 202, an ETC antenna 203, and a speaker SP. The camera 201, the sound emission control unit 202, the ETC antenna 203, and the speaker SP are provided in one housing. The casing is formed as small as possible within a range in which each of these functional units can be housed and the functional units do not interfere with each other. In particular, the housing is formed so that the area in plan view is as small as possible.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the camera unit 20 is mounted on the upper part of the windshield 902 of the vehicle 90. For example, the camera unit 20 is disposed in the vicinity of the room mirror 903. Note that it is preferable that the camera unit 20 and the room mirror 903 are disposed at positions where at least a part of each of the camera unit 20 and the room mirror 903 is overlapped when the room mirror 903 is viewed in front.

  The camera 201 is arranged in the housing so that the imaging area can be changed. For example, a casing (camera casing) for the camera 201, a casing (main body) provided with the sound emission control unit 202, the ETC antenna 203, and the speaker SP are individually formed. The camera housing may be installed so as to be rotatable with respect to the main body, and the camera housing and the main body may have a shape in which one surface is in contact with each other. Thereby, a housing | casing can be reduced in size and the imaging area of a camera can be changed. Further, it is possible to prevent the sound emission control unit 202, the ETC antenna 203, and the speaker SP from entering the imaging area of the camera 201. Such a casing is attached to the windshield 902 so that the camera 201 can switch and image the front of the vehicle 90 (outside the vehicle 90) and the back (inside the vehicle 90).

  The speaker SP is arranged with respect to the housing of the camera unit 20 so that the indoor side becomes a sound emitting surface. It is better that a plurality of sound emission holes are formed in the wall on the sound emission surface side of the speaker SP in the housing of the camera unit 20. The speaker SP is driven by the sound emission control unit 202. The sound emission control unit 202 drives the speaker SP based on the sound emission control signal from the control unit 300 of the vehicle-mounted device body 30. The sound emission control signal is a signal in which information on ETC and the like are coded, and the sound emission control unit 202 analyzes the received code and drives the speaker SP. The sound emission control signal may be the sound signal itself to be emitted.

  The in-vehicle device body 30 includes a control unit 300, a drive recorder control unit 301, an ETC control unit 303, a storage unit 304, an operation input unit 305, a storage medium IF 311 and an ETC IF 331. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle-mounted device main body 30 is disposed in a position where it cannot be visually recognized from the outside, such as in the dashboard 901 of the vehicle 900, the back side of the dashboard 901, or the like.

  The control unit 300 performs overall control of the vehicle-mounted device main body 300 and communication control with the camera unit 20. The drive recorder control unit 301 performs control related to the function of the drive recorder. The ETC control unit 303 performs control related to ETC. The drive recorder control unit 301 may perform communication control with the camera 301 and the ETC control unit 303 may perform communication control with the sound emission control unit 202 and the ETC antenna 203 without using the control unit 300.

  The storage unit 304 stores functions that are executed by the vehicle-mounted device main body 300, that is, functions related to the drive recorder, functions related to the ETC, communication with the camera unit 20, and the like.

  The operation input unit 305 receives operation inputs from the driver and the passenger and outputs them to the control unit 300.

  The storage medium IF 311 is an interface to which, for example, a memory card is attached. The drive recorder control unit 301 stores the imaging data of the camera 201 in the memory card via the storage medium IF 311. In this embodiment, the storage medium IF 311 is an interface in which a memory card is mounted, but may be an interface that can use a storage medium other than the memory card.

  The ETC IF 331 is an interface to which an ETC card is attached. The ETC control unit 303 performs power supply to the ETC card and writing / reading of data via the ETC IF 331.

  The cable 40 includes a transmission line for imaging data ("first transmission line" in the present invention) 401, a transmission line 402 for communication of sound emission control signals ("second transmission line in the present invention") 402, and an ETC. A transmission line 403 for communication is provided. A transmission line 401 connects the camera unit 20 and the drive recorder control unit 301. The transmission line 402 connects the sound emission control unit 202 and the control unit 300. The transmission line 403 connects the ETC antenna 203 and the ETC control unit 303. These transmission lines 401, 402, and 403 are bundled into one line, and the cable 40 is realized. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the cable 40 is wired along the edge of the windshield 902 of the vehicle 90.

  By using the configuration as described above, the camera 201, the ETC antenna 203, and the speaker SP can be easily mounted, and the mounting area can be reduced. Furthermore, the camera 201 can reliably photograph the front (the outside of the vehicle 90) and the rear (the inside of the vehicle 90). Further, the information related to the ETC can be emitted by the speaker SP so that it can be easily heard by the driver.

  Further, by using the configuration as described above, the camera unit 20 disposed on the top of the windshield 902 and the vehicle-mounted device body 30 disposed in the dashboard 901 are easily and simply connected. be able to. Further, the cable 40 can be easily wired without placing the cable 40 in the imaging area of the camera 201.

  Next, an in-vehicle device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The in-vehicle device 10A according to the present embodiment is obtained by adding a GPS antenna 204 to the in-vehicle device 10 according to the first embodiment.

  The GPS antenna 204 is disposed on the camera unit 20A (provided on the housing). At this time, it is arranged at a position that does not fall within the imaging area of the camera 201. The GPS antenna 204 is connected to the control unit 300A of the vehicle-mounted device main body 30A via the GPS signal transmission line 404 of the cable 40A.

  The GPS antenna 204 receives a GPS signal and outputs it to the control unit 300A. Control unit 300A performs positioning using a GPS signal, and outputs a positioning result to drive recorder control unit 301. The GPS antenna 204 may also include a positioning function, and the positioning result may be directly output from the GPS antenna 204 to the drive recorder control unit 301. As a result, the drive recorder control unit 301 can associate the imaged data with the imaged position and store them in the memory card.

  The control unit 300A can also acquire time information by demodulating the navigation message from the GPS signal. The control unit 300A outputs the acquired time information to the ETC control unit 303. The ETC control unit 303 is attached to the ETC IF 331 with reference to time information. It detects whether or not the validity period of the ETC card has expired. When the ETC IF 331 detects that the ETC card has expired, the ETC IF 331 outputs it to the control unit 300. The control unit 300 generates a code indicating that the expiration date of the ETC card has expired, and outputs the code to the sound emission control unit 202. According to this code, the sound emission control unit 202 emits sound indicating that the validity period of the ETC card has expired from the speaker SP. Accordingly, the driver can reliably and easily recognize that the validity period of the ETC card attached to the vehicle-mounted device body 30 has expired.

  Next, an in-vehicle device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  The in-vehicle device 10B according to the present embodiment is obtained by adding a microphone 205 to the in-vehicle device 10A according to the second embodiment.

  The microphone 205 is disposed on the camera unit 20B (provided on the housing). At this time, it is arranged at a position that does not fall within the imaging area of the camera 201. The microphone 205 is connected to the control unit 300B of the vehicle-mounted device main body 30B via the audio signal transmission line 405 of the cable 40B. The controller 300B outputs the collected sound signal to the drive recorder controller 301. As a result, the drive recorder control unit 301 can store the image data and the voice in association with each other in the memory card.

  Further, by providing a voice recognition function in the control unit 303B, it is possible to realize an operation input by voice through the microphone 205.

  Next, an in-vehicle device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  The in-vehicle device 10C according to the present embodiment is obtained by adding a sensor 306 to the in-vehicle device 10B according to the third embodiment.

  The sensor 306 is disposed on the vehicle-mounted device main body 30C. The sensor 306 can be arranged in the camera unit 20B, or can be arranged in a position different from the vehicle-mounted device main body 30C and the camera unit 20B in the vehicle 90.

  The sensor 306 includes an acceleration sensor, a shock sensor, and the like, and detects an impact on the vehicle 90. The sensor 306 outputs a detection signal to the control unit 300C. Control unit 300C outputs an activation trigger to drive recorder control unit 301 when it detects that an impact greater than or equal to a predetermined value has been applied to vehicle 90 based on the detection signal. The drive recorder control unit 301 performs a wake-up operation based on the activation trigger and starts imaging with the camera 201. Thereby, the power consumption of the drive recorder control unit 301 and the camera 201 can be reduced.

  In addition, the control unit 300C outputs a start trigger to the ETC control unit 303. The ETC control unit 303 executes recovery processing according to the activation trigger. The recovery process is a process for reconfiguring the power supply from the ETC IF 331 to the ETC card and the communication between the ETC IF 331 and the ETC card. Accordingly, the contact state between the ETC IF 331 and the ETC card can be reconstructed without the driver performing restructuring by operation input or manual work.

  Next, an in-vehicle device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

  The in-vehicle device 10D according to the present embodiment is obtained by adding a display unit 206 to the in-vehicle device 10C according to the fourth embodiment.

  The display unit 206 includes a simple light emitting element such as an LED. The display unit 206 is disposed in the camera unit 20D. More specifically, it is disposed on the wall on the opposite side to the side in contact with the windshield 902 in the housing constituting the camera unit 20D. At this time, the display unit 206 is disposed at a position that does not fall within the imaging region of the camera 201. The display unit 206 is connected to the control unit 300D of the vehicle-mounted device main body 30D via the transmission line 406 for the light emission control signal of the cable 40D. Control part 300D produces | generates the light emission control signal according to the kind of the said sound emission control signal with the sound emission control signal. That is, the control unit 300D generates a light emission control signal having a different light emission mode according to the type of the sound emission control signal. The control unit 300 </ b> D outputs a sound emission control signal to the sound emission control unit 202 and outputs a light emission control signal to the display unit 206. The sound emission control unit 202 emits sound according to the sound emission control signal, and the display unit 206 emits light with a light emission pattern according to the light emission control signal.

  Thereby, the driver can receive not only an audible notification but also a visual notification.

  In addition, the structure of each above-mentioned embodiment can be combined suitably. In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which a control unit is provided separately from the drive recorder control unit and the ETC control unit has been described. However, the control unit is omitted, and the drive recorder control unit and the ETC control unit are respectively Data may be transmitted / received to complement the function. In each of the above-described embodiments, an aspect using ETC is shown, but an aspect using DSRC may be used.

  Further, by using the above-described configuration, it is possible to provide to the drive recorder control unit information on the toll road gate passing by ETC by the ETC control unit. As a result, the drive recorder control unit can perform imaging and storage while traveling on a toll road and can not perform imaging and storage while traveling on other roads.

  As another modification of each of the embodiments described above, not only information related to the ETC is emitted from the speaker SP, but information related to the drive recorder (for example, information captured and stored) is emitted from the speaker SP. It may be configured to be.

  According to this configuration, in a state where a plurality of in-vehicle devices are arranged at positions suitable for the respective in-vehicle devices, useful information from a specific in-vehicle device can be more efficiently obtained by the driver via the speaker SP. Is possible to get.

10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D: On-vehicle device 20, 20A, 20B, 20D: Camera unit 30, 30A, 30B, 30C, 20D: On-vehicle device body 40, 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D: Cable 201: Camera 202: Sound emission control unit 203: ETC antenna 204: GPS antenna 205: Microphone 206: Display unit 300, 300A, 300B, 300C: Control unit 301: Drive recorder control unit 303: ETC control unit 304: Storage unit 305: Operation input Unit 306: Sensor 311: IF for storage medium
331: IF for ETC
401, 402, 403, 404, 405: transmission line 90: vehicle 901: dashboard 902: windshield 903: room mirror SP: speaker

Claims (6)

A camera that images the outside or the inside of the vehicle, a speaker that emits information about ETC, and a camera unit that includes the camera and the chassis that is provided with the speaker and is mounted on the windshield of the vehicle;
An ETC interface that is disposed inside the vehicle and in which an ETC card is detachably mounted, a storage medium interface in which a storage medium for storing video is detachably mounted, control of the main body, and the camera unit A vehicle-mounted device body having a control unit for performing communication;
The camera unit and the vehicle-mounted device main body are connected, and a first transmission line that transmits an image captured by the camera and a second transmission line that transmits a sound emission control signal to the speaker are integrally incorporated. Cable and
A vehicle-mounted device comprising: The in-vehicle device according to claim 1,
The control unit reads an expiration date from the ETC card and transmits a sound emission control signal for causing the speaker to emit the expiration date to the camera unit.
In-vehicle device. It is an in-vehicle device according to claim 1 or 2,
A vibration sensor for detecting the vibration of the vehicle;
When the vibration sensor detects a predetermined vibration or more by the vibration sensor, the control unit transmits a sound emission control signal for causing the speaker to emit a sound related to an ETC recovery operation.
In-vehicle device. An in-vehicle device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The camera unit is
An ETC antenna that is arranged at a position different from the imaging area of the camera and performs wireless communication with a roadside device is provided in the housing.
In-vehicle device. An in-vehicle device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The camera unit is
A GPS antenna that is disposed at a position different from the imaging area of the camera and receives a GPS signal is provided in the housing.
In-vehicle device. An in-vehicle device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A display unit for displaying in a display mode according to the content emitted by the speaker is provided in the housing.
In-vehicle device.

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