JP7831182B2 - Vehicle recording control device and recording control method - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a vehicle recording control device and a recording control method.

Event recording in a vehicle's dashcam can be triggered by collision detection based on acceleration or by user operation. Furthermore, techniques for changing the event recording time of a dashcam have also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The technique described in Patent Document 1 extends the event recording time before event detection based on the vehicle's speed.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-191207

Event data is, for example, video data covering a period of 10 seconds before and after the event detection or operation reception. However, in user-initiated event recording, depending on the circumstances under which the operation to instruct event recording is performed, the user may not be able to promptly instruct event recording, resulting in a time lag between the occurrence of the event to be saved as event data and the operation being performed. Therefore, in some cases, events may not be properly recorded in the recorded event data. User-initiated event recording is performed when recording accidents involving other vehicles in which the user's vehicle is not a party, when recording events other than accidents based on the user's interests, and when the user's vehicle may be involved in an accident, but the acceleration applied to the vehicle is not considered an event, and therefore acceleration-based event recording was not performed.

This disclosure is made in light of the above and aims to ensure proper recording of events.

To solve the aforementioned problems and achieve the objectives, the vehicle recording control device according to this disclosure comprises: a shooting data acquisition unit that acquires video data captured by a camera that photographs the area around the vehicle; an event detection unit that detects events based on acceleration applied to the vehicle; an operation control unit that accepts event recording operations from the user; and a recording control unit that records the video data acquired by the shooting data acquisition unit, and, when the operation control unit accepts an event recording operation, if acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit does not consider to be an event has been detected prior to the acceptance of the event recording operation, the recording control unit generates and stores event data from the video data for a longer period than in the case where acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit does not consider to be an event has not been detected prior to the acceptance of the event recording operation.

The recording control method according to this disclosure includes: a recording data acquisition step of acquiring video data captured by a camera that photographs the area around the vehicle; an event detection step of detecting an event based on the acceleration applied to the vehicle; an operation control step of accepting an event recording operation by user operation; and a recording control step of recording the video data acquired by the recording data acquisition step. If an event recording operation is accepted by the operation control step, and if an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not judged as an event by the event detection step was detected before the event recording operation was accepted, the recording control step of generating and saving event data from the video data for a longer period than would be the case if an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not judged as an event by the event detection step was not detected before the event recording operation was accepted.

This disclosure provides the benefit of enabling proper event recording.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a vehicle recording device having a control device according to the first embodiment. Figure 2 shows an example of the recording period for event data. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow in the control device according to the first embodiment. Figure 4 shows another example of the recording period for event data. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow in the control device according to the second embodiment.

The embodiments of the vehicle recording control device and recording control method according to this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[First Embodiment]
<Vehicle recording device>
Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a vehicle recording device 10 having a vehicle recording control device (hereinafter referred to as "control device") 100 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle recording device 10 is a so-called drive recorder that records events that occur in a vehicle. If the vehicle recording device 10 detects an acceleration of a predetermined value or higher that is not judged as an event before it receives an operation to record an event, it generates and saves event data video data from a longer period of time than when no acceleration of a predetermined value or higher that is not judged as an event is detected before it receives an operation to record an event.

The vehicle recording device 10 may be a portable device usable in a vehicle, in addition to one mounted on the vehicle. Furthermore, the vehicle recording device 10 may be implemented by incorporating functions or configurations of devices or navigation systems pre-installed in the vehicle. The vehicle recording device 10 includes a camera 211, a recording unit 212, an operation unit 213, an acceleration sensor 214, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiving unit 215, a display unit 216, and a control device 100.

Camera 211 is a camera that captures images of the area around the vehicle. Camera 211 may be part of a group of multiple cameras. For example, Camera 211 is positioned in the front of the vehicle's interior, capable of capturing images of the area in front of the vehicle. In this embodiment, Camera 211 continuously captures images while the vehicle's accessory power is ON. Camera 211 outputs the captured video data to the image data acquisition unit 111 of the control device 100. The video data is, for example, a moving image composed of 27.5 frames per second.

The recording unit 212 is used for temporary data storage in the vehicle recording device 10. The recording unit 212 is, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or flash memory, or a memory card. Alternatively, it may be an external recording unit wirelessly connected via a communication device (not shown). The recording unit 212 records loop recording video data or event data based on control signals output from the recording control unit 122 of the control device 100.

The operation unit 213 can receive various operations on the vehicle recording device 10. The operation unit 213 is, for example, a touch panel superimposed on the display screen of the display unit 216. The operation unit 213 may also be, for example, a microphone that picks up voice commands spoken by the user. For example, the operation unit 213 can receive an operation to manually save the captured video data as event data to the recording unit 212. For example, the operation unit 213 can receive an operation to play back loop recording video data or event data recorded in the recording unit 212. For example, the operation unit 213 can receive an operation to erase event data recorded in the recording unit 212. For example, the operation unit 213 can receive an operation to terminate loop recording. The operation unit 213 outputs the operation information to the operation control unit 116 of the control device 100.

The acceleration sensor 214 is a sensor that detects acceleration occurring in the vehicle. The acceleration sensor 214 outputs the detection result to the event detection unit 117 of the control device 100. The acceleration sensor 214 is a sensor that detects acceleration in, for example, three axial directions. The three axial directions are the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions of the vehicle.

The GNSS receiving unit 215 consists of a GNSS receiver and other components that receive GNSS signals from GNSS satellites. The GNSS receiving unit 215 outputs the received position information signal to the position information acquisition unit 118 of the control device 100.

The display unit 216 may, for example, be a display device specific to the vehicle recording device 10, or a display device shared with other systems, including a navigation system. The display unit 216 may be integrally formed with the camera 211. The display unit 216 is a display including, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. In this embodiment, the display unit 216 is located in front of the driver of the vehicle, on the dashboard, instrument panel, center console, etc. The display unit 216 displays images based on video signals output from the display control unit 119 of the control device 100. The display unit 216 displays images captured by the camera 211 or images recorded in the recording unit 212.

<Vehicle recording control device>
The control device 100 is an arithmetic processing unit (control device) composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control device 100 loads the stored program into memory and executes the instructions contained in the program. The control device 100 includes internal memory (not shown), which is used for temporary storage of data in the control device 100. The control device 100 has the following functions realized by its configuration and program: an image capture data acquisition unit 111, a buffer memory 112, an image capture data processing unit 113, an operation control unit 116, an event detection unit 117, a location information acquisition unit 118, a display control unit 119, a playback control unit 121, and a recording control unit 122.

The image data acquisition unit 111 acquires video data of the surrounding area captured by the camera 211 that photographs the area around the vehicle. The image data acquisition unit 111 outputs the acquired video data to the buffer memory 112.

The buffer memory 112 is an internal memory of the control device 100, and it temporarily records video data acquired by the image data acquisition unit 111 for a certain period of time, updating it as it goes.

The shooting data processing unit 113 converts the video data temporarily stored in the buffer memory 112 into an arbitrary file format, such as MP4, encoded using an arbitrary codec, such as H.264 or MPEG-4 (Moving Picture Experts Group). The shooting data processing unit 113 generates a file of video data for a certain period of time from the video data temporarily stored in the buffer memory 112. As a specific example, the shooting data processing unit 113 generates a file of 60 seconds of video data in recording order from the video data temporarily stored in the buffer memory 112. The shooting data processing unit 113 outputs the generated video data to the recording control unit 122. The shooting data processing unit 113 also decodes the generated video data through the playback control unit 121 and outputs it to the display control unit 119. The period of the video data generated as a file is 60 seconds as an example, but is not limited to this. The video data referred to here may include audio in addition to the video captured by the camera 211.

The operation control unit 116 acquires operation information from the operation unit 213. For example, the operation control unit 116 acquires save operation information indicating a manual save operation of video data, playback operation information indicating a playback operation, or erase operation information indicating an erase operation of video data, and outputs a control signal. For example, the operation control unit 116 acquires termination operation information indicating an operation to end loop recording and outputs a control signal. For example, the operation control unit 116 accepts event recording operations initiated by the user. Event recording operations initiated by the user that the operation control unit 116 accepts include, for example, event recording operations instructed by operations such as touch panel operation, and event recording operations instructed by voice command input.

The event detection unit 117 detects events based on the acceleration applied to the vehicle. More specifically, the event detection unit 117 detects events based on the detection results of the acceleration sensor 214. The event detection unit 117 detects that an event has occurred if the acceleration information acquired by the event detection unit 117 from the acceleration sensor 214 exceeds a threshold.

The location information acquisition unit 118 acquires location information indicating the vehicle's current position. Based on the GNSS signal received by the GNSS receiving unit 215, the location information acquisition unit 118 calculates the vehicle's current position using a known method.

The display control unit 119 controls the display of video data on the display unit 216. The display control unit 119 outputs a video signal that causes the video data to be output to the display unit 216. More specifically, the display control unit 119 outputs a video signal to be displayed by playing back the video captured by the camera 211, or the loop recording video data or event data recorded in the recording unit 212.

The playback control unit 121 controls the playback operation based on the playback control signal output from the operation control unit 116, and plays back the loop recording video data or event data recorded in the recording unit 212. The playback control unit 121 includes a decoder (not shown) and plays back various types of data by decoding the supplied compressed data.

The recording control unit 122 controls the recording of the video data, which has been filed by the shooting data processing unit 113, to the recording unit 212. During the period when loop recording is performed, such as when the vehicle's accessory power is ON, the recording control unit 122 records the video data filed by the shooting data processing unit 113 to the recording unit 212 as overwritable video data. More specifically, during the period when loop recording is performed, the recording control unit 122 continues to record the video data generated by the shooting data processing unit 113 to the recording unit 212. When the capacity of the recording unit 212 becomes full, it overwrites the oldest video data with new video data.

The recording control unit 122 saves video data corresponding to the event detection when the event detection unit 117 detects an event. The video data corresponding to the event detection is video data for a predetermined period in the video data generated by the shooting data processing unit 113. The recording control unit 122 saves the video data corresponding to the event detection as event data that cannot be overwritten in the recording unit 212. When the event detection unit 117 detects an event, the recording control unit 122 copies video data for a predetermined period of approximately 10 seconds before and after the event detection time (hereinafter referred to as the "event detection time") from the buffer memory 112 and saves it as event data. For example, the recording control unit 122 generates and saves event data from video data between a point in time from a first retrospective period P1 before the event detection time to a point in time after a first elapsed period P1' from the event detection time.

The recording control unit 122 records the video data acquired by the shooting data acquisition unit 111. When the operation control unit 116 receives an event recording request, if acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit 117 does not consider an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the time of operation acceptance (hereinafter referred to as the "event operation acceptance time"), the recording control unit 122 generates and saves event data from the video data for a longer period than would be the case if acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit 117 does not consider an event were not detected within the predetermined period prior to the event operation acceptance time. More specifically, the recording control unit 122 records the video data acquired by the shooting data acquisition unit 111. If acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit 117 does not consider an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the event operation acceptance time, the recording control unit 122 generates and saves event data for a longer period than would be the case if acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit 117 does not consider an event were not detected within the predetermined period prior to the event operation acceptance time.

An acceleration above a predetermined value that is not considered an event is an acceleration below the acceleration detected as an event. For example, if detecting an acceleration of 1.0G is considered an event, then an acceleration above 0.5G or greater but below 1.0G would be considered an event. Specifically, this refers to situations where acceleration above a predetermined value is applied, such as a collision between a vehicle and an object or sudden braking, but the acceleration is below the acceleration threshold for being considered an event.

The specified period is, for example, 30 to 120 seconds.

The recording control unit 122, if the operation control unit 116 detects acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not considered an event within a predetermined period prior to the event operation reception, generates and saves event data from the video data for a longer period than when no acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not considered an event is detected within the predetermined period prior to the event operation reception. In other words, the recording control unit 122 saves event data for a longer period prior to the event operation reception if acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not considered an event is detected within the predetermined period prior to the event operation reception, compared to when no acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not considered an event is detected within the predetermined period prior to the event operation reception.

In this embodiment, the recording control unit 122 generates and saves event data from video data such that the second retrospective period P2 from the time of receiving the event recording operation is longer than the first retrospective period P1 from the time of receiving the event recording operation, when acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit 117 does not consider to be an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to receiving the event recording operation. More specifically, if acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit 117 does not consider to be an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to receiving the event recording operation, the recording control unit 122 saves event data such that the second retrospective period P2 (P1 < P2) from the time of receiving the event recording operation is longer than the first retrospective period P1 from the time of event detection, compared to the case where acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit 117 does not consider to be an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to receiving the event recording operation. The recording control unit 122 generates and saves event data from video data between, for example, the point in time two periods prior to the event operation reception (P2) and the point in time two periods later (P2' = P2') from the event operation reception.

Figure 2 shows an example of the recording period for event data. For loop recording video data, the video data generated by the shooting data processing unit 113 is continuously recorded for the duration of the loop recording process. The period for event data generated by an event recording operation when no acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not judged as an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the event operation reception time is from the time P1 back from the event operation reception time to the time P1' after the event operation reception time. The period for event data generated by an event recording operation when acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not judged as an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the event operation reception time is from the time P2 back from the event operation reception time to the time P2' after the event operation reception time. The period for event data generated by an event recording operation when acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not judged as an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the event operation reception time is longer than the period for event data generated by an event recording operation when no acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not judged as an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the event operation reception time. For example, if the first retrospective period P1 is 10 seconds, the second retrospective period P2 will be set to 15 to 20 seconds, for instance. Also, the first elapsed period P1' and the second elapsed period P2' will be set to 10 seconds, for example.

<Information Processing in Vehicle Recording and Control Systems>
Next, the processing flow in the control device 100 will be explained using Figure 3. While the vehicle recording device 10 is running, the processing shown in the flowchart in Figure 3 is executed.

The control device 100 starts loop recording (step S201). More specifically, the shooting data processing unit 113 starts loop recording. The control device 100 also starts event detection. The start of event detection involves the detection of acceleration by the acceleration sensor 214 at a set acceleration threshold by the event detection unit 117, and the detection of the acceptance of an event recording operation by the operation control unit 116. The control device 100 then proceeds to step S202.

The control device 100 determines whether or not an event has been detected based on the detection result from the event detection unit 117 (step S202). If the acceleration detected by the event detection unit 117 is above a threshold, it determines that an event has been detected (Yes in step S202) and proceeds to step S203. Alternatively, if the event detection unit 117 determines that the detected acceleration is not above a threshold, it determines that no event has been detected (No in step S202) and proceeds to step S204.

If an event is detected (Yes in step S202), the recording control unit 122 generates and saves event data for a first retrospective period P1 from the time of event detection (step S203). More specifically, the recording control unit 122 causes the recording unit 212 to save video data captured between the time of event detection (from the point P1 in the first retrospective period) and the time after the first elapsed period P1' from the time of event detection as event data, with overwriting prohibited. The control device 100 then proceeds to step S208.

If the system does not determine that an event has been detected (No in step S202), it determines whether or not an event recording operation has been accepted (step S204). If the operation control unit 116 determines that an event recording operation by the user has been accepted (Yes in step S204), the system proceeds to step S205. If the operation control unit 116 does not determine that an event recording operation by the user has been accepted (No in step S204), the system proceeds to step S208.

If the control device 100 determines that it has received an event recording operation (Yes in step S204), it determines whether it detected an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not an event within a predetermined period prior to receiving the event recording operation (step S205). More specifically, the control device 100 determines whether it detected an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not considered an event within a predetermined period prior to receiving the event recording operation. If the control device 100 determines that it detected an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not an event within a predetermined period prior to receiving the event recording operation (Yes in step S205), it proceeds to step S206. If the control device 100 does not determine that it detected an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not an event within a predetermined period prior to receiving the event recording operation (No in step S205), it proceeds to step S207.

If it is determined that an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value (not an event) was detected within a predetermined period prior to the acceptance of the event recording operation (Yes in step S205), the recording control unit 122 generates and saves event data from the time of the event recording operation to a second retrospective period P2 (step S206). More specifically, the recording control unit 122 causes the recording unit 212 to save video data captured between the time of event operation acceptance (from the time of the second retrospective period P2) to a time after the second elapsed period P2' from the time of event operation acceptance) as event data, with overwriting prohibited. The control device 100 then proceeds to step S208.

If the recording control unit 122 does not determine that an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not an event was detected within a predetermined period prior to the acceptance of the event recording operation (No in step S205), it generates and saves event data for a first retrospective period P1 from the time of the event recording operation (step S207). More specifically, the recording control unit 122 causes the recording unit 212 to save video data captured between the time of the event operation acceptance (from the time of the first retrospective period P1) and the time after the first elapsed period P1' from the time of the event operation acceptance) as event data, with overwriting prohibited. The control device 100 then proceeds to step S208.

The control device 100 determines whether or not to terminate the loop recording (step S208). For example, termination of the loop recording may be determined when the vehicle's power or motor is turned OFF, or when the operation unit 213 is operated. If the control device 100 determines that the loop recording should be terminated (Yes in step S208), it terminates this process. If the control device 100 does not determine that the loop recording should be terminated (No in step S208), it repeats the process in step S202.

<Effects>
As described above, in this embodiment, when an event recording operation is received, if acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not considered an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the time the event operation is received, event data going back a longer period can be generated and saved from the video data compared to the case where acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not considered an event is not detected within the predetermined period prior to the time the event operation is received. According to this embodiment, if the user is unable to promptly give an event recording instruction, and there is a time lag between the occurrence of an event that should be saved as event data and the operation is performed, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of events not being properly recorded in the recorded event data. In this way, according to this embodiment, events can be recorded appropriately.

This embodiment allows for the generation and storage of event data from video data where, in cases where acceleration exceeding a predetermined value (not considered an event) is detected within a predetermined period prior to the event operation reception, the second retrospective period P2 from the event operation reception time is longer than the first retrospective period P1 from the event recording operation reception time (when acceleration exceeding a predetermined value (not considered an event) is not detected within the predetermined period prior to the event operation reception time).

[Second Embodiment]
The vehicle recording device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is a diagram showing another example of the event data recording period. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow in the control device according to the second embodiment. The basic configuration of the vehicle recording device 10 is the same as that of the vehicle recording device 10 of the first embodiment. In the following description, components similar to those of the vehicle recording device 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals or corresponding reference numerals, and their detailed descriptions are omitted. In this embodiment, the processing in the recording control unit 122 differs from that of the first embodiment.

If the recording control unit 122 has not detected an acceleration value exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit 117 would not consider an event within a predetermined period prior to receiving the event recording operation, it uses the time the event recording operation was received as the second starting point and saves the video data for a predetermined period before and after the second starting point as event data. If an acceleration value exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit 117 would not consider an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to receiving the event recording operation, it uses the time when the acceleration value exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit 117 would not consider an event is detected as the third starting point and generates and saves event data from the video data for a predetermined period before and after the third starting point.

The recording period for event data will be explained using Figure 4. If no acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not considered an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the event operation reception time, the event data period is a predetermined period before and after the event operation reception time, with the event operation reception time as the second starting point. Specifically, it is the period from the time P1 back from the second starting point to the time after the first elapsed period P1' from the second starting point. If acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not considered an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the event operation reception time, the event data period is a predetermined period before and after the third starting point, with the time when acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not considered an event is detected as the third starting point. Specifically, it is the period from the time P3 back from the third starting point to the time after the third elapsed period P3' from the third starting point. For example, the third back period P3 and the third elapsed period P3' may be set to 15 seconds to 20 seconds, etc. The second retrospective period P2 and the second elapsed period P2' are the same as in the first embodiment.

Next, the processing flow in the control device 100 will be explained using Figure 5. Steps S211 to S215 and step S218 perform the same processing as steps S201 to S205 and step S208 in the flowchart shown in Figure 3.

If it is determined that an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value (not an event) was detected within a predetermined period prior to the acceptance of the event recording operation (Yes in step S215), the recording control unit 122 saves the video footage from a predetermined period before and after the third starting point (the point at which the acceleration exceeding the predetermined value (not an event) was detected) as event data (step S216). More specifically, the recording control unit 122 generates event data from video data captured between the point P3 (a third retrospective period) from the third starting point and the point P3' (a third elapsed period) from the third starting point, and saves it to the recording unit 212. The control device 100 then proceeds to step S218.

If the recording control unit 122 does not determine that an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not an event has been detected within a predetermined period prior to the acceptance of the event recording operation (resulting in a "No" in step S215), it saves the video footage from a predetermined period before and after the second base point, which is the time of the event recording operation, as event data (step S217). More specifically, the recording control unit 122 causes the recording unit 212 to save the video data captured between the time P2 back from the second base point and the time P2' after the second elapsed period from the second base point as event data. The control device 100 then proceeds to step S218.

As described above, in this embodiment, if no acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that would not be considered an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the event operation reception time, the video data for a predetermined period before and after the event operation reception time is saved as event data, with the event operation reception time as the second starting point. If acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that would not be considered an event is detected within a predetermined period prior to the event operation reception time, the time at which the acceleration exceeding the predetermined value that would not be considered an event is detected is used as the third starting point, and event data can be generated and saved from the video data for a predetermined period before and after the third starting point.

The vehicle recording device 10 according to this disclosure may be implemented in various different forms other than those described above.

The components of the illustrated vehicle recording device 10 are functionally conceptual and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown. In other words, the specific form of each device is not limited to those shown; depending on the processing load and usage conditions of each device, all or part of them may be functionally or physically distributed or integrated in any unit.

The configuration of the vehicle recording device 10 is realized, for example, as software, such as a program loaded into memory. In the above embodiment, these were described as functional blocks realized through the cooperation of hardware or software. That is, these functional blocks can be realized in various forms using hardware alone, software alone, or a combination thereof.

The above-described components include those that are readily conceivable to those skilled in the art, and those that are substantially identical. Furthermore, the above-described components can be combined as appropriate. In addition, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the components are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

10 Vehicle recording device 100 Control device (vehicle recording control device)
111 Image data acquisition unit 112 Buffer memory 113 Image data processing unit 116 Operation control unit 117 Event detection unit 118 Location information acquisition unit 119 Display control unit 121 Playback control unit 122 Recording control unit 211 Camera 212 Recording unit 213 Operation unit 214 Acceleration sensor 215 GNSS receiving unit 216 Display unit P1 First retrospective period P1' First elapsed period P2 Second retrospective period P2' Second elapsed period P3 Third retrospective period P3' Third elapsed period

Claims (5)

A shooting data acquisition unit that acquires video data captured by a camera that photographs the area around the vehicle,
An event detection unit detects an event based on the acceleration applied to the vehicle,
An operation control unit that accepts user-initiated event recording operations,
When the aforementioned shooting data acquisition unit records the video data acquired and the operation control unit receives an operation to record an event, if, before the operation to record an event was received, an acceleration of a predetermined value or higher that the event detection unit does not consider to be an event was detected, the recording control unit generates and saves event data from the video data for a period including the time when the acceleration of a predetermined value or higher that the event detection unit does not consider to be an event was detected, going back a longer period than when no acceleration of a predetermined value or higher that the event detection unit does not consider to be an event was detected before the operation to record an event.
A vehicle recording control device equipped with the following features. The recording control unit generates and saves event data from the video data such that, before receiving an operation to record an event, the second retrospective period from the time the event recording operation is received is longer than the first retrospective period from the time the event recording operation is received when no acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit does not consider to be an event is detected before receiving an operation to record an event.
The vehicle recording control device according to claim 1. If, before receiving an operation to record an event, the recording control unit has not detected an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit does not consider to be an event, it uses the time when the operation to record an event was received as a second starting point and saves the video data for a predetermined period before and after the second starting point as event data. If, before receiving an operation to record an event, an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit does not consider to be an event has been detected, it uses the time when the acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that the event detection unit does not consider to be an event was detected as a third starting point and generates and saves event data from the video data for a predetermined period before and after the third starting point.
The vehicle recording control device according to claim 1. When an event is detected by the event detection unit, the recording control unit generates and stores event data from the video data, going back a first period of time from the time of event detection.
A vehicle recording control device according to claim 2 or 3. The process involves acquiring video data captured by a camera that films the area around the vehicle, and
An event detection step that detects an event based on the acceleration applied to the vehicle,
An operation control step that accepts user-initiated event recording operations,
The recording control step records the video data acquired by the aforementioned shooting data acquisition step, and when an operation to record an event is accepted by the operation control step, if an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not judged as an event by the event detection step was detected before the operation to record an event was accepted, the recording control step generates and saves event data from the video data for a period including the time when the acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not judged as an event by the event detection step was detected, going back a longer period than when no acceleration exceeding a predetermined value that is not judged as an event by the event detection step was detected before the operation to record an event was accepted.
A recording control method performed by a vehicle recording control device.