JP2020004015A - Image data transmitting device, image data providing server, and image data transmitting program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image of a traffic event existing in front of a vehicle in a better condition. When a vehicle device (5a) receives a notification indicating that an obstacle section (51) is present in front by traffic information distributed by a traffic information distribution server (4), the vehicle device (5a) is located a distance L1 before the starting point of the obstacle section (51). An image obtained by capturing the front of the camera 12 at the point, the start point, and the end point of the obstacle section 51 by a distance L2, and the end point is acquired and transmitted to the image distribution server 2. The image distribution server 2 transmits this to the following vehicle devices 5b and 5c. Since the vehicle device 5a acquires a plurality of pieces of image data at different shooting points, the obstacle 50 can be properly contained in the image regardless of where the obstacle 50 is located in the obstacle section 51. In addition, the vehicle devices 5b and 5c can display an image of the obstacle 50 to call the driver's attention. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image data transmitting apparatus, an image data providing server, and an image data transmitting program, for example, to a device for collecting a situation of an obstacle on a road.

When traveling by vehicle, there is a demand to grasp the traffic condition ahead. In view of this, technology for transmitting a traffic condition from a vehicle traveling ahead to a server and distributing the traffic condition to a subsequent vehicle is being developed.
As such a technique, for example, there is “Congestion Information Providing Apparatus and Congestion Information Providing Method” of Patent Document 1.

  According to this technology, a vehicle traveling on a road has travel information transmitted to a server, and the server analyzes the information (extraction of traffic congestion avoiding action, etc.) or uses traffic information to specify a traffic congestion area. . Then, an image or the like taken by a vehicle traveling in the traffic congestion area is distributed to other vehicles to provide information.

  However, the technology described in Patent Literature 1 cannot always capture an event that causes traffic congestion (for example, the presence of an obstacle), and the event is not well captured because it is captured from a position away from the event. There are cases.

For example, when an obstacle section provided by traffic information is acquired, it is preferable to take an image before, for example, 100 m before passing through the start point of the obstacle.
However, the provision of the obstacle section based on the traffic information is for the purpose of alerting, and therefore is not set ahead of the actual obstacle in the vehicle traveling direction for safety.
Therefore, when the start point of the obstacle section and the start point of the actual obstacle coincide with each other, the obstacle can be photographed at a point 100 m before the obstacle.
However, if the start point of the obstacle section is far from the start point of the actual obstacle, shooting is performed at a point that is too far from the obstacle. There were cases where it could not be recognized.

JP 2013-20523 A

  An object of the present invention is to acquire an image of a predetermined traffic event existing in front of a vehicle in a better state.

(1) In the invention according to claim 1, a photographing means for photographing an image in front of the own vehicle, an event position information obtaining means for obtaining event position information of a traffic event existing in front of the own vehicle, Reference point setting means for setting a reference point based on the acquired event position information, a point in front of the set reference point by a predetermined distance, and an image of the captured image corresponding to the set reference point An image data transmitting apparatus comprising: image data obtaining means for obtaining data; and transmitting means for transmitting the obtained image data to a predetermined server.
(2) In the invention according to claim 2, the event location information acquiring means acquires the event location information provided by an event start point and an event end point of an event section corresponding to the traffic event, 2. The image data transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference point setting unit sets the event start point and the event end point as the reference points.
(3) The invention according to claim 3, wherein the photographing means photographs a moving image of the front of the host vehicle, and the image data acquiring means acquires a frame image constituting the moving image as image data. An image data transmitting apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2 is provided.
(4) In the invention described in claim 4, camera position information is acquired at predetermined time intervals, and position associating means for associating with frame images taken at the time of acquiring the camera position information, A time associating means for associating a photographing time, the near point, and vehicle position information acquiring means for acquiring a position of the own vehicle corresponding to the reference point, wherein the image data acquiring means comprises: 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a frame image is obtained as image data from a frame image group between the camera position information immediately before the obtained vehicle position and the camera position information immediately after the obtained vehicle position. An image data transmission device is provided.
(5) In the invention described in (5), the image data obtaining means obtains, as image data, a frame image taken at the oldest time in the frame image group. An image data transmitting device according to (1) is provided.
(6) In the invention as set forth in claim 6, the image data obtaining means is configured to determine, for the event start point set as the reference point, a frame captured at the latest time in the frame image group. An image is acquired as image data, and for the event end point set as the reference point, a frame image taken at the oldest time in the frame image group is acquired as image data. An image data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4 is provided.
(7) The invention according to claim 7, further comprising operation start point setting means for setting an operation start point further before the near point based on the set reference point, wherein the image data obtaining means includes: The image data transmission operation according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the operation of acquiring image data is started when the own vehicle reaches the set operation start point. Provide equipment.
(8) In the invention according to claim 8, the image data acquiring means further acquires the photographed image data at a point ahead by a predetermined distance from the set reference point. Item 4. An image data transmitting device according to item 4.
(9) In the invention described in (9), the image data obtaining means obtains, as image data, a frame image taken at the oldest time in the frame image group. An image data transmitting device according to (1) is provided.
(10) In the invention according to (10), the image data acquisition unit may determine, for the event start point set as the reference point, a frame captured at the latest time in the frame image group. An image is acquired as image data, and for the event end point set as the reference point, a frame image taken at the oldest time in the frame image group is acquired as image data. An image data transmitting apparatus according to claim 8 is provided.
(11) In the invention according to claim 11, the event position information acquisition means acquires construction information or accident information existing in front of the host vehicle as the traffic event. An image data transmitting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is provided.
(12) In the invention according to claim 12, image data storage means for receiving and storing image data from the image data transmitting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, and storing the received image data in the image data. And a distribution unit for distributing data to a vehicle following the vehicle that has captured the image.
(13) In the invention according to claim 13, an event location information acquisition function for acquiring event location information of a traffic event existing in front of the host vehicle, and a reference for setting a reference point based on the acquired event location information. A point setting function, an image data acquisition function for acquiring image data of an image taken by an imaging unit corresponding to the near point a predetermined distance before the set reference point, and the set reference point, And a transmission function of transmitting the image data to a predetermined server by a computer.

  According to the present invention, an image can be taken from a vehicle so that the image is taken before the traffic event.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image distribution system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the vehicle device. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a point at which the vehicle device acquires image data. It is a following figure for demonstrating the point from which a vehicle apparatus acquires image data. FIG. 5 is a diagram for describing a process in which the vehicle device acquires image data from moving image data. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of image data transmission processing. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of an image acquisition process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of an image selection process.

(1) Overview of Embodiment The vehicle device 5a mounted on the vehicle 3a receives a notification that the obstacle section 51 is present ahead by the traffic information distributed by the traffic information distribution server 4. Then, the vehicle device 5a performs a camera operation at a point that is a distance L1 from the start point of the obstacle section 51, a point that is a distance L2 from the start point and an end point of the obstacle section 51, and a camera that is at the end point. 12 acquires an image photographed in front and transmits it to the image distribution server 2. When receiving the image data from the vehicle device 5a, the image distribution server 2 transmits the image data to the vehicle devices 5b and 5c mounted on the following vehicles 3b and 3c. Since the vehicle device 5a acquires a plurality of pieces of image data at different photographing points, the obstacle 50 can be properly included in the image regardless of where the obstacle 50 is located in the obstacle section 51. In addition, the vehicle devices 5b and 5c can display an image of the obstacle 50 to call the driver's attention.

(2) Details of Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image distribution system 1 according to the present embodiment.
The image distribution system 1 includes a traffic information distribution server 4, an image distribution server 2, vehicles 3a, 3b, 3c,.
Hereinafter, when the vehicles 3a, 3b, 3c,... Are not particularly distinguished, they are simply referred to as the vehicle 3. The same applies to other components.

The traffic information distribution server 4 is a server device that distributes traffic information to the vehicle 3 and relates to various traffic events (traffic congestion, road works, traffic accidents, traffic regulations due to fire, etc.) occurring in the traffic system. Provides information. A service that provides such traffic information is, for example, VICS (registered trademark).
In the present embodiment, the start point and the end point of the actual traffic event are represented by obstacles 50S and 50E. On the other hand, in the traffic event information transmitted from the traffic information distribution server 4 to the vehicle 3, an obstacle section 51 having a start point and an end point before a section where an actual obstacle exists is provided. Since the information provision of the obstacle section 51 is for the purpose of alerting, the provision of the information is set closer to the actual obstacle 50 for safety.

The vehicle 3 is equipped with a vehicle device 5 that provides a navigation function for guiding a driver or receiving traffic information distributed by a traffic information distribution server 4 and notifying the driver.
The vehicle device 5 has an image data transmission function described later as a part of the navigation function, and in the present embodiment, functions as an image data transmission device.

Regarding the traffic information, the vehicle device 5 receives the position information (the position of the start point and the end point) of the obstacle section 51 based on the traffic information distributed by the traffic information distribution server 4, and determines the obstacle section 51 existing ahead. recognize.
As described above, the vehicle device 5 includes the event position information obtaining unit that obtains the event position information of the traffic event existing in front of the own vehicle, and the event position information obtaining unit exists in front of the own vehicle. Construction information or accident information is acquired as traffic events.

Further, the vehicle device 5 is equipped with a camera 12 that shoots a moving image of the front of the host vehicle. The camera 12 generates moving image data by recording a frame image in which a front view (landscape) is continuous in a time-series (temporal) manner.
As described above, the vehicle device 5 includes the image capturing unit that captures a moving image of an image in front of the host vehicle using time-series continuous frame images.

Then, the vehicle device 5 acquires image data for transmission by extracting a frame image from the moving image data generated by the camera 12.
As described above, the vehicle device 5 includes the image data acquisition unit that acquires a frame image that constitutes a moving image as image data.
Note that this is an example, and the camera 12 may be configured to capture a still image at a predetermined point instead of capturing a moving image.

As will be described in detail later, when the vehicle apparatus 5 recognizes the obstacle section 51 based on the traffic information, the vehicle apparatus 5 determines a reference point for photography and a point in front of the reference point by a predetermined distance L (for example, 100 m) based on the obstacle section 51. Set.
Although the setting position of the reference point is arbitrary, the vehicle device 5 of the present embodiment sets the start point and the end point of the obstacle section 51 as the reference point, for example.

Then, the vehicle device 5 converts the frame images corresponding to these points (the reference point and the near point set for the start point and the end point of the obstacle section 51) from the moving image data captured by the camera 12 into these points. Extracted as image data.
Next, the vehicle device 5 transmits (uploads) the extracted frame images to the image distribution server 2 as image data at the reference point and the near point.

As described above, the vehicle device 5 includes the reference point setting unit that sets the reference point based on the event position information, and corresponds to the point in front of the set reference point by a predetermined distance and the position corresponding to the set reference point. Image data acquiring means for acquiring image data of an image photographed by the camera.
Further, the vehicle device 5 includes a transmission unit that transmits the acquired image data to a predetermined server.

  In addition, the event position information acquiring means of the vehicle device 5 is provided by an event start point (start point of the obstacle section 51) and an event end point (end point of the obstacle section 51) of the event section corresponding to the traffic event. The event location information obtained is acquired, and the reference point setting means sets the event start point and the event end point as the reference points.

  As described above, the vehicle device 5 generates a total of four image data of a point that is a distance L1 from the start point of the obstacle section 51, a point that is a distance L2 from the start point, and the end point, and an end point. The image is transmitted to the image distribution server 2.

  As described above, there is a certain degree of uncertainty in the actual position of the obstacle 50 with respect to the notified obstacle section 51, but the vehicle device 5 has the vicinity of the start point of the obstacle section 51, and By photographing a plurality of front images near the end point, the obstacle 50 can be photographed in the image with a good composition (that is, in a size and form that is easy for a subsequent driver to visually recognize).

The image distribution server 2 is a server device that functions as an image data providing server. The image distribution server 2 receives and stores image data from the vehicle device 5 that has previously traveled in the obstacle section 51, and stores the image data in the subsequent vehicle device 5. Is a server device that distributes the server.
The image distribution server 2 in FIG. 1 is an example of a case where four image data are received from the vehicle device 5a, stored, and distributed to the vehicle devices 5b, 5c of the following vehicles 3b, 3c.

Note that the image distribution server 2 may be configured to select an image in which the obstacle 50 is best imaged from the four images transmitted from the vehicle device 5a by image recognition processing and distribute the selected image. it can.
As described above, the image distribution server 2 receives the image data from the image data transmission device and stores the image data, and distributes the received image data to a vehicle subsequent to the vehicle that captured the image data. Distribution means.

  The vehicle devices 5b and 5c display the image of the obstacle 50 on the display using the distributed image data. Thus, the drivers of the vehicles 3b and 3c can grasp the situation of the obstacle 50 and travel in the obstacle section 51 with care.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a vehicle device 5 mounted on the vehicle 3.
The vehicle device 5 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 6, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 7, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 8, a vehicle position detection unit 9, a vehicle time detection unit 10, a storage unit 11, a camera 12, an input unit. 13, a computer in which an audio output unit 14, a communication control unit 15, a display 16, and the like are connected by a bus line.

The CPU 6 performs various types of information processing and controls each unit of the vehicle device 5 according to programs stored in various storage units such as the ROM 7 and the storage unit 11.
In the present embodiment, the operation is performed in accordance with the navigation program stored in the storage unit 11, for example, by controlling the camera 12 to capture a moving image, extracting image data for transmission from the moving image data, and controlling the communication control unit 15. Then, the image data is transmitted to the image distribution server 2.

The ROM 7 is a read-only memory and stores, for example, basic programs and parameters for the CPU 6 to start the vehicle device 5.
The RAM 8 is a working memory that temporarily stores programs and data necessary for the CPU 6 to perform various operations, information processing, and control. As will be described in detail later, the RAM 8 extracts and acquires image data from moving image data. For example, it stores work moving image data, stores acquired transmission image data, or stores the start point and end point of the obstacle section 51.

The vehicle position detection unit 9 is configured using a detection device such as a GPS (Global Positioning System), a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a steering sensor.
The GPS receives time signals transmitted by a plurality of GPS satellites orbiting the earth, and detects a current position from a time difference between these signals.

The vehicle speed sensor detects a vehicle speed from a pulse signal or the like generated in proportion to the number of revolutions of the axle, and the acceleration sensor detects an acceleration of the vehicle from a piezo resistance or the like.
The steering sensor detects a steering angle by using a steering wheel, an encoder attached to an axle, or the like.

The vehicle position detection unit 9 can calculate the current position of the own vehicle (own vehicle position) by analyzing the detection values output by these detection devices.
In the present embodiment, the vehicle position detection unit 9 provides the CPU 6 with the vehicle position as a reference for the CPU 6 to select a frame image from the moving image data.
The vehicle time detector 10 measures the current time (including the year and month and year) and outputs it to the CPU 6.

The storage unit 11 includes a large-capacity storage medium including a semiconductor device and a hard disk, and stores a navigation program and other programs, moving image data captured by the camera 12, and other data.
In addition, since moving image data tends to have a large capacity, the storage unit 11 can provide a virtual memory space to the CPU 6 in order to cope with this.

  The navigation program provides the CPU 6 with an original function of guiding to a destination, for example, capturing an image in an obstacle section 51 and transmitting the image data to the image distribution server 2, Has a function of displaying an image on the display 16 using the image data transmitted by the user.

  The camera 12 includes a moving image photographing unit 17 including an image sensor composed of a charge coupled devices (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS), and a camera position detecting unit that detects the position of the camera 12 and outputs the position. And a camera time detector 19 for outputting the current time detected by the camera 12.

The moving image capturing section 17 captures a moving image of a scene in front of the vehicle using a frame image at a predetermined frame rate.
The moving image capturing unit 17 generates image data by integrally compressing a plurality of time-series adjacent frame image groups by moving image processing using a predetermined image compression technique.
On the other hand, the CPU 6 restores each frame image by performing a predetermined operation on the image data, and performs processing such as selection of a frame image described later.

  The camera position detecting unit 18 and the camera time detecting unit 19 measure the current position and the current time of the camera 12 independently of the vehicle position detecting unit 9 and the vehicle time detecting unit 10 by using the camera 12 with its own circuit configuration. Output.

When generating the frame image, the moving image photographing unit 17 attaches the current time detected by the camera time detection unit 19 to the frame image and associates the current time with the frame image, and displays the current position detected by the camera position detection unit 18 at predetermined time intervals. It is attached to the frame image and linked.
As described above, the vehicle device 5 acquires the camera position information at predetermined time intervals, the position associating means for associating with the frame image photographed when the camera position information is acquired, and the photographing time for each frame image. Time linking means for linking

The input unit 13 includes input devices such as a touch panel, a key switch, and a voice input device. A driver or the like inputs instructions and information such as input of a destination required for a route search to the vehicle device 5. Input means for performing the input.
Among these input devices, the touch panel is arranged on the surface of the display 16 and detects selection of a driver or the like for a soft key displayed on the display 16 by detecting a touch and notifies the CPU 6 of the selection.

The communication control unit 15 connects to a communication network such as the Internet, for example, and communicates with the image distribution server 2, the traffic information distribution server 4, and other server devices.
The CPU 6 controls the communication control unit 15 to receive traffic information and transmit image data to the image distribution server 2.

The audio output unit 14 is composed of, for example, a plurality of speakers, and outputs audio guidance such as “I'm constructing ahead” and also can output audio of a radio broadcast.
The display 16 is a small display installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle, and includes various screens such as an input screen and a current position screen, as well as image data transmitted by the image distribution server 2 (when the preceding vehicle 3 has an obstacle). An image of the obstacle 50 is displayed by taking an image of the vicinity of the object section 51).

Each drawing in FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a point at which the vehicle device 5 acquires image data.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the vehicle device 5 first receives a start point 52 and an end point 53 of an obstacle section 51 based on traffic information.
When the vehicle device 5 recognizes the obstacle section 51 based on the traffic information, the vehicle apparatus 5 first moves to a point at a predetermined distance M (for example, 150 m) on the near side of the start point 52 with reference to the start point 52 of the obstacle section 51. The starting point 60 is set.

  In the vehicle device 5, the predetermined distance M is set to be larger than the predetermined distance L1 from the reference point 40 to the near point 41 at which the image data is acquired. That is, the vehicle device 5 sets the operation start point 60 further before the near point 41.

The operation start point 60 is a point where the vehicle device 5 starts operation in the image transmission mode. The vehicle device 5 determines that the vehicle 3 has reached the operation start point 60 based on the vehicle position output from the vehicle position detection unit 9. Is detected, the image acquisition operation is started and the approach to the image acquisition point is monitored.
Alternatively, the operation of the camera 12 may be normally turned off, and the shooting may be started at the same time as the start of the operation mode.

As described above, the vehicle device 5 includes the operation start point setting unit that sets the operation start point further before the near point based on the reference point. When the set operation start point is reached, the image data acquisition operation is started.
Next, the vehicle device 5 sets the reference point 40 based on the operation start point 60. The reference point 40 is a point serving as a reference for a position at which image data is acquired.
In the present embodiment, the vehicle device 5 sets the reference point 40 as the start point 52 of the obstacle section 51.

Next, the vehicle device 5 sets the near point 41 at a position at a predetermined distance L1 on the near side from the reference point 40. In the present embodiment, L1 is set to 100 m. Note that this is an example, and various values such as 200 m, 150 m, 80 m, and 50 m can be used (the same applies to predetermined distances L2 and L3 described later).
Further, L1 may be variably set based on the local traffic environment such as the width of the road, the degree of congestion of the road, and the length of the obstacle section 51.

Further, the vehicle device 5 sets a forward point a predetermined distance L3 (for example, 100 m) from the reference point 40 in addition to the near point 41, obtains image data captured at the forward point, and distributes the image. It may be configured to transmit to the server 2.
In this case, the image data obtaining means provided in the vehicle device 5 further obtains image data captured at a point ahead of the reference point by a predetermined distance from the reference point.
As described above, when the image data is further acquired beyond the reference point 40, the obstacle 50S is satisfactorily imaged even when the actual obstacle 50S and the start point 52 of the obstacle section 51 are far apart. be able to.
This modification is also applicable to a case where an end point 53 described later is set as the reference point 40.

When the reference point 40 and the near point 41 are set as described above, the vehicle device 5 sets the image data captured corresponding to the near point 41 as shown in FIG. As shown in ()), the image data captured corresponding to the reference point 40 is acquired and transmitted to the image distribution server 2.
As described above, the vehicle device 5 acquires two pieces of image data on the near side from the reference point 40, but, for example, acquires three or more pieces of image data captured at an intermediate point between the reference point 40 and the near point 41. The image data may be acquired and transmitted to the image distribution server 2.

FIG. 4 is a continuation diagram for explaining a point where the vehicle device 5 acquires image data.
The vehicle device 5 also acquires image data captured corresponding to the near point 46 and the reference point 45 at the end point 53 of the obstacle section 51 as in the case of the start point 52, and sends the acquired image data to the image distribution server 2. Send.
The process performed by the vehicle device 5 for the end point 53 is repeated, and thus the description is simplified.

First, based on the end point 53 of the obstacle section 51, the vehicle device 5 sets the operation start point 61 at a point a predetermined distance M before the end point 53. In the present embodiment, the predetermined distance to the end point 53 is 150 m, which is the same as M for the start point 52, but a different distance from M to the start point 52 may be set.
Then, the vehicle device 5 further sets the reference point 45 at the position of the end point 53 based on the operation start point 61.
In addition, the vehicle device 5 sets the near point 46 at a position on the near side by a predetermined distance L2 (for example, 100 m) from the reference point 45.

After that, the vehicle device 5 starts the image transmission mode at the operation start point 61, acquires the image data corresponding to the near point 46 as shown in FIG. 4B, and further acquires the image data in FIG. As shown, the image data corresponding to the reference point 45 is obtained and transmitted to the image distribution server 2.
As described above, the vehicle device 5 acquires a plurality of pieces of image data while the vehicle 3 approaches the end point 53. Therefore, the obstacle 50E is near the end point 53, or the vehicle 50 is located ahead of the end point 53 ( (On the other side), it is possible to obtain image data of this image well photographed.

The vehicle device 5 of the present embodiment has L2 = 100 m as an example, but this is an example, and may have a different value as in the case of L1. Further, L1 and L2 need not be the same, and may be different distances.
Further, the vehicle device 5 may be configured to acquire image data at a point ahead of the reference point 45 by a predetermined distance L4 (for example, 100 m) and transmit the image data to the image distribution server 2.
Further, the vehicle device 5 of the present embodiment acquires image data at both the start point 52 side and the end point 53 side and transmits the image data to the image distribution server 2, but acquires image data only at the start point 52 side. Alternatively, the image data acquisition processing may be performed by either of them.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process in which the vehicle device 5 acquires image data from moving image data.
The moving image photographing unit 17 of the camera 12 reads the images projected on the imaging surface by the optical system at predetermined time intervals (frame rate), generates frame images in time series, compresses them, and Generating data.

The figure schematically shows the frame images generated by the moving image photographing unit 17, and is arranged in chronological order (in the order of photographing time) from oldest to newest as shown in the figure.
Each frame image is provided with time information tn, tn + 1, tn + 2,..., Tn + m, tn + m + 1,.
This is obtained by adding the current time output by the camera time detection unit 19 to the frame image by the moving image shooting unit 17 and represents the shooting time of the frame image.

In addition, position information gn, gn + m,... Indicating the position where the image is photographed every m frames is added to the frame image.
This is obtained by assigning the current position output by the camera position detection unit 18 to the m frame images by the moving image imaging unit 17 and represents the imaging position of the frame image.
Thus, since the camera 12 outputs the frame image intermittently in association with the position information, the vehicle device 5 cannot pinpoint the frame image captured at the reference point 40 or the like. This is due to the specifications of the camera 12.

Therefore, the vehicle device 5 selects the frame images corresponding to each of the near point 41, the reference point 40, the near point 46, and the reference point 45 from the moving image data as image data for transmission as follows. get.
For example, when acquiring image data corresponding to the reference point 40, the vehicle device 5 stores the position of the reference point 40 output by the vehicle position detection unit 9 in the RAM 8 as an image acquisition point.
Then, the vehicle device 5 adds the position information (gn) immediately before the image acquisition point (the reference point 40) and the position information (gn + 1) immediately after the image acquisition point (here, the reference point 40) from the frame image developed on the RAM 8 by calculating the moving image data. Identify the frame image that is present.

Next, the vehicle device 5 extracts, from the frame image group between the two specified frame images, the frame image captured by the camera 12 at the oldest time (that is, at the earliest timing) (time tn indicated by a thick line). Is selected as image data corresponding to the image acquisition point and extracted from the moving image data.
The vehicle device 5 also sets the near point 41, the reference point 40, the near point 46, and the reference point 45 as image acquisition points in the same manner, and sets the position information immediately before and after each point between the frame images. An image taken at the oldest time from a certain frame image group is selected and extracted as image data for transmission.
Note that the same applies to the case where image data is further acquired at a point ahead of the reference points 40 and 45 by L3 as described in the modification.

  By transmitting image data that is temporally old to the image distribution server 2, the reference point 40 matches the position of the obstacle 50, and there is an image acquisition point in the middle or ahead of the frame image group. Even in this case, it is possible to reliably select the previous frame image from the obstacle 50.

As described above, the vehicle position detecting unit 9 functions as a vehicle position information obtaining unit that obtains the position of the own vehicle corresponding to the near point and the reference point. A frame image is acquired as image data from a frame image group between the camera position information immediately before the acquired vehicle position and the camera position information immediately after the acquired vehicle position.
Then, the image data obtaining means obtains, as image data, a frame image captured at the oldest time in the frame image group.

This method of selecting a frame image is merely an example, and for example, the frame image may be selected at the latest time or at an intermediate time.
For example, a frame image at a different time for each point may be selected, such as selecting the newest frame image at the reference point 40 and selecting the oldest frame image at the reference point 45.
In this case, the image data obtaining means obtains, as image data, a frame image taken at the latest time in the frame image group for the event start point set as the reference point, and sets the event set at the reference point. For the end point, a frame image captured at the oldest time in the frame image group is acquired as image data.

Further, in the present embodiment, the position information of the image acquisition point is stored, and the frame image group is specified using the information. However, the time information at the image acquisition point is acquired from the vehicle time detection unit 10 and stored in the RAM 8. The frame images may be stored and the frame image group may be specified using the time information.
In this case, the vehicle device 5 specifies the frame image immediately before and after the time at the image acquisition point, and selects image data for transmission from a frame image group located between the frame images.

Next, the procedure of the image data transmission process will be described.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of the image data transmission process performed by vehicle device 5.
First, when the engine of the vehicle 3 starts, the CPU 6 of the vehicle device 5 loads the navigation program stored in the storage unit 11 into the RAM 8 and executes the navigation program to start the function as the vehicle device 5. Thereby, the CPU 6 also starts shooting a moving image by the camera 12.
While the vehicle 3 is traveling, the CPU 6 drives the communication control unit 15 to receive the traffic information from the traffic information distribution server 4, reads the traffic information into the RAM 8, and analyzes it (step 5).

The CPU 6 determines from the analysis whether or not there is a notice of the obstacle section 51 in the traffic information (step 10).
When the CPU 6 determines that there is no notification of the obstacle section 51 (Step 10; N), the CPU 6 returns to Step 5 and continues the operation of receiving traffic information.

On the other hand, when the CPU 6 determines that there is a notification of the obstacle section 51 (step 10; Y), the CPU 6 analyzes the positions of the start point 52 and the end point 53 of the obstacle section 51 from the notification and stores them in the RAM 8.
Then, the CPU 6 reads the start point 52 from the RAM 8 and calculates a position in front of the start point 52 by a distance M. Further, the CPU 6 sets the position of the operation start point 60 by storing the position calculated by the calculation as the position of the operation start point 60 in the RAM 8 (step 15).

Next, the CPU 6 detects the own vehicle position of the vehicle 3 by the vehicle position detecting section 9 and stores the value in the RAM 8 (step 20).
Then, the CPU 6 compares the own vehicle position stored in the RAM 8 with the operation start point 60, and determines whether or not the vehicle 3 has reached the operation start point 60 (step 25).
For example, the CPU 6 determines that the vehicle 3 has reached the operation start point 60 when the distance between the own vehicle position and the operation start point 60 is calculated and the value is within a predetermined range. I do.

When the CPU 6 determines that the vehicle 3 has not yet reached the operation start point 60 (Step 25; N), the process returns to Step 20, and the detection processing of the own vehicle position is continued.
On the other hand, when the CPU 6 determines that the vehicle 3 has reached the operation start point 60 (Step 25; Y), the CPU 6 performs an image acquisition process (Step 35), and further performs an image selection process (Step 40).

  Next, the CPU 6 compares the current position (own vehicle position) of the vehicle 3 output by the vehicle position detection unit 9 with the position of the end point 53 stored in the RAM 8 to determine whether the vehicle 3 has passed the end point 53. It is determined whether or not all image acquisition points have been passed (step 45).

If it is determined that there is an image acquisition point that has not passed yet (step 45; N), the CPU 6 returns to step 15, sets the next operation start point 61, and performs the same processing thereafter.
On the other hand, when it is determined that all the image acquisition points have passed (step 45; Y), the CPU 6 stores the image data stored in the RAM 8 together with the acquisition position and the acquisition time of the image data via the communication control unit 15. The data is transmitted to the distribution server 2 (step 50).

  In the above-described processing, all the image data (a total of four pieces) when the start point 52 and the end point 53 are set as the reference points are acquired, and these are collectively transmitted to the image distribution server 2. The processing of step 50 is performed immediately after the processing of step 40. First, the image data corresponding to the start point 52 is acquired and transmitted to the image distribution server 2, and the image data corresponding to the end point 53 is acquired. Can be transmitted to the image distribution server 2.

Further, each time image data for transmission is acquired, the image data may be transmitted to the image distribution server 2 each time.
In this way, by dispersing the transmission processing to the image distribution server 2 in time and position, the risk of transmission failure due to radio interference or the like can be dispersed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the image acquisition processing in step S35.
The CPU 6 of the vehicle device 5 sets the reference point 40 corresponding to the operation start point stored in the RAM 8 in Step 15 (Step 105). Here, as described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the reference point 40 in the case of the operation start point 60 is the start point 52, and the reference point 40 in the case of the operation start point 61 is the end point 53.

Next, the CPU 6 accesses the vehicle position detector 9 and reads the current position output by the vehicle position detector 9 into the RAM 8, thereby acquiring the current position of the vehicle 3 (step 110).
Then, the CPU 6 calculates the difference between the reference point 40 stored in the RAM 8 in step 105 and the current position stored in the RAM 8 in step 110, and outputs the result to the RAM 8 to calculate the distance from the current position to the reference point 40. It is calculated (step 115).

  Next, the CPU 6 determines from the calculated distance output to the RAM 8 whether or not the current position is a point located a predetermined distance L1 = 100 m before the reference point 40 (step 120). When the calculated distance is within L1 ± α with α as an allowable error, it is determined that the current position is located a predetermined distance L1 = 100 m before the reference point 40.

If the CPU 6 determines that the current position is located a predetermined distance L1 = 100 m before the reference point 40 (step 120; Y), the CPU 6 sets the current position stored in the RAM 8 as the position of the image acquisition point (near point 41). It is stored in the RAM 8 (step 130).
On the other hand, if the CPU 6 determines that the current position is not a point located a predetermined distance L1 = 100 m before the reference point 40 (step 120; N), the CPU 6 further determines that the current position is at the reference point 40 from the calculated distance. It is determined whether or not it is (Step 125). The determination method is the same as in step 120.

  When the CPU 6 determines that the current position is the reference point 40 from the calculated distance (step 125; Y), the CPU 6 stores the current position stored in the RAM 8 as the position of the image acquisition point (reference point 40) in the RAM 8 (step 130). ).

  Next, when the processing of step 130 is completed, or when the CPU 6 determines in step 125 that the current position is not the reference point 40 from the calculated distance (step 125; N), the CPU 6 stores the current position stored in the RAM 8. By calculating the difference between the current position and the reference point 40, it is determined whether or not the current position is ahead of the reference point 40 (step 135).

  When determining that the current position is not ahead of the reference point 40 (step 135; N), the CPU 6 shifts to the processing of step 110, and determines that the current position is ahead of the reference point 40 (step 135; Y), since the vehicle 3 has passed the reference point 40, the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

As described above, the vehicle device 5 can store the positions of the near point 41 and the reference point 40 in the RAM 8 as image acquisition points.
In the above, the processing when the vehicle 3 approaches the start point 52 of the obstacle section 51 has been described. However, the processing when the vehicle 3 approaches the end point 53 is the same.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the image selection processing in step S40.
First, the CPU 6 develops a portion corresponding to the image selection process from the moving image data stored in the storage unit 11 into a frame image as working moving image data, and stores this in the RAM 8 to obtain moving image data (step 205).

Next, the CPU 6 sets the selected distance to the near point 41 by substituting the position of the near point 41 stored in the RAM 8 in step 130 for the selected distance and storing the same in the RAM 8 (step 210).
Then, the CPU 6 specifies the frame images immediately before and after the selected point by searching the position information g associated with the frame image in the frame image group developed in the RAM 8. As a result, the CPU 6 specifies a frame image group corresponding to the selected distance (step 215).

Next, the CPU 6 specifies a frame image with the oldest acquisition time from the specified frame image group (step 220), and sets the image data of the frame image as image data for transmission by copying the frame image to the RAM 8. (Step 225).
Next, the CPU 6 determines whether all the image data to be transmitted to the image distribution server 2 (here, the image data corresponding to the reference point 40 and the near point 41) has been acquired (step 230).

When determining that there is image data that has not yet been acquired (step 230; N), the CPU 6 updates the selected distance stored in the RAM 8 to the next image acquisition point (here, the reference point 40). (Step 235), and the process proceeds to Step 215.
On the other hand, if the CPU 6 determines that all the image data has been acquired (step 230; Y), the process returns to the main routine of FIG. Then, the CPU 6 performs the same processing for the near point 46 and the reference point 45.

As described above, the vehicle device 5 detects the obstacle 50 while the vehicle 3 is traveling, and captures the obstacle 50 in the image so that the obstacle 50 is captured in the image. Image data obtained by photographing the front at two locations, two locations at a time, approaching the two locations at the point 53 are acquired.
In this way, in order to set the photographing points at a plurality of places, in the related art, there are cases where the obstacle 50 is too far away from the obstacle 50 and the obstacle 50 cannot be captured in the image. Can satisfactorily capture the obstacle 50 in the image.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image distribution system 2 Image distribution server 3 Vehicle 4 Traffic information distribution server 5 Vehicle device 6 CPU
7 ROM
8 RAM
9 Vehicle position detection unit 10 Vehicle time detection unit 11 Storage unit 12 Camera 13 Input unit 14 Audio output unit 15 Communication control unit 16 Display 17 Video shooting unit 18 Camera position detection unit 19 Camera time detection unit 40 Reference point 41 Near point 45 Reference Point 46 Near point 50 Obstacle 51 Obstacle section 52 Start point 53 End point 60 Operation start point 61 Operation start point

Claims (13)

Photographing means for photographing an image in front of the own vehicle;
Event position information obtaining means for obtaining event position information of a traffic event existing in front of the host vehicle,
Reference point setting means for setting a reference point based on the acquired event position information,
A point in front of the set reference point by a predetermined distance, and image data obtaining means for obtaining image data of the captured image corresponding to the set reference point,
Transmitting means for transmitting the obtained image data to a predetermined server,
An image data transmission device comprising: The event location information acquisition means acquires the event location information provided by an event start point and an event end point of an event section corresponding to the traffic event,
The reference point setting means sets the event start point and the event end point as the reference points,
The image data transmitting device according to claim 1, wherein: The photographing means captures a moving image of the front of the host vehicle,
The image data transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data acquiring unit acquires a frame image forming the moving image as image data. A position associating unit that acquires camera position information at predetermined time intervals, and associates the camera position information with a frame image captured when acquiring the camera position information,
Time linking means for linking the shooting time to each frame image;
The near point, vehicle position information acquisition means for acquiring the position of the vehicle corresponding to the reference point,
The image data obtaining means obtains a frame image as image data from a frame image group between the camera position information immediately before the obtained position of the own vehicle and the camera position information immediately after,
The image data transmitting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: The image data obtaining unit obtains, as image data, a frame image captured at the oldest time in the frame image group,
The image data transmitting device according to claim 4, wherein The image data acquisition means,
For the event start point set as the reference point, of the frame image group, obtain a frame image captured at the latest time as image data,
For the event end point set as the reference point, of the frame image group, obtain a frame image taken at the oldest time as image data,
The image data transmitting device according to claim 4, wherein An operation start point setting means for setting an operation start point further before the near point based on the set reference point,
7. The image data obtaining means according to claim 1, wherein the image data obtaining means starts the image data obtaining operation when the own vehicle reaches the set operation start point. The image data transmitting device according to claim.   The image data transmitting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image data acquiring unit further acquires the photographed image data at a point ahead by a predetermined distance from the set reference point. The image data obtaining unit obtains, as image data, a frame image captured at the oldest time in the frame image group,
The image data transmitting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein: The image data acquisition means,
For the event start point set as the reference point, of the frame image group, obtain a frame image captured at the latest time as image data,
For the event end point set as the reference point, of the frame image group, obtain a frame image taken at the oldest time as image data,
The image data transmitting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein: The event position information acquiring means acquires construction information or accident information existing in front of the host vehicle as the traffic event.
The image data transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data transmitting apparatus includes: Image data storage means for receiving and storing image data from the image data transmission device according to claim 1,
A distribution unit that distributes the received image data to a vehicle subsequent to the vehicle that captured the image data,
An image data providing server comprising: An event location information acquisition function for acquiring event location information of a traffic event existing in front of the vehicle,
A reference point setting function for setting a reference point based on the acquired event position information,
An image data acquisition function for acquiring image data of an image photographed by an imaging unit corresponding to the near point that is a predetermined distance before the set reference point and the set reference point,
A transmission function of transmitting the obtained image data to a predetermined server,
An image data transmission program for causing a computer to realize the following.

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