Information storage apparatus

• US 7,978,057 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2008
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Shinichi, Yoshimura, Minoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Goins; Davetta W
• Application Number:
  US12/292,121
• Publication Number:
  US 20090121850A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• Field of Search: 340/538, 340/425.5, 340/426.1, 340/426.25, 340/426.26, 340/565, 382/104
• US Class Current: 340/438
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/302 using recording means, e.g. black box
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/305 using a camera

Abstract

There is provided an information storage apparatus capable of storing information on a parked vehicle acquired before and after detection of unusual conditions with lesser amount of power to be consumed. During halt of a vehicle, at least one of image information and sound information of the interior of the vehicle is acquired by an anti-theft device main body, and the acquired information is transmitted from the anti-theft device main body to a drive recorder at a transmission interval that varies between before and after detection of unusual vehicle conditions by the anti-theft device main body. A drive recorder main body allows a second RAM to store therein information received from an anti-theft device at a second transmission period and information received from the anti-theft device at a first transmission period.

Claims

1. An information storage apparatus comprising:

an acquisition section that acquires at least one of image information and sound information of an interior or outside of a vehicle;

a storage section that stores therein the information acquired by the acquisition section;

an unusual-condition detection section that detects a presence or absence of unusual vehicle conditions on the basis of a sense signal issued from a sensor disposed in the vehicle; and

a storage control section that causes the storage section to store therein the information acquired by the acquisition section at a first storage interval prior to detection of unusual vehicle conditions by the unusual-condition detection section and at a second storage interval after detection of unusual vehicle conditions by the unusual-condition detection section, the second storage interval being different from the first storage interval.

6. The information storage apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a recording section that, upon the unusual-condition detecting section detecting the presence of unusual vehicle conditions, records the information stored by the storage section during a predetermined duration of time preceding and following the detection of the presence of unusual vehicle conditions.

2. An information storage apparatus comprising:

an acquisition section that acquires at least one of image information and sound information of an interior or outside of a vehicle;

a storage section that stores therein the information acquired by the acquisition section;

an unusual-condition detection section that detects a presence or absence of unusual vehicle conditions on the basis of a signal issued from a sensor disposed in the vehicle;

a storage control section that causes the storage section to store therein the information acquired by the acquisition section at a storage interval that varies between before and after detection of unusual vehicle conditions by the unusual-condition detection section;

a drive recorder that acquires at least one of image information and sound information during an interval when the vehicle is being in motion; and

a security device that acquires at least one of image information and sound information during an interval when the vehicle is parked, wherein

the storage control section includes a recorder-side control portion included in the drive recorder and a security device-side control portion included in the security device,

the acquisition section includes a recorder-side acquisition portion included in the drive recorder, for acquiring at least one of image information and sound information of outside of the vehicle, and a security device-side acquisition portion included in the security device, for acquiring at least one of image information and sound information of the interior of the vehicle,

the storage section includes a recorder-side storage portion which is included in the drive recorder and is capable of storing therein the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion,

the security device-side control portion effects transmission of the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion from the security device to the drive recorder at a transmission interval that varies between before and after detection of unusual vehicle conditions by the unusual-condition detection section, and

the recorder-side control portion allows the recorder-side storage portion to store therein the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion before detection of unusual vehicle conditions by the unusual-condition detection section that is transmitted from the security device, and the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion after detection of unusual vehicle conditions by the unusual-condition detection section that is transmitted from the security device at different storage intervals.

3. The information storage apparatus of claim 2,

wherein the recorder-side control portion effects setting of an interval of time at which the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion after detection of unusual vehicle conditions by the unusual-condition detection section that is transmitted from the security device is stored in the recorder-side storage portion, to be shorter than an interval of time at which the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion before detection of unusual vehicle conditions by the unusual-condition detection section that is transmitted from the security device is stored in the recorder-side storage portion.

4. An information storage apparatus comprising:

an acquisition section that acquires at least one of image information and sound information of an interior or outside of a vehicle;

a storage section that stores therein the information acquired by the acquisition section;

an unusual-condition detection section that detects a presence or absence of unusual vehicle conditions on the basis of a signal issued from a sensor disposed in the vehicle;

a storage control section that causes the storage section to store therein the information acquired by the acquisition section at a storage interval that varies between before and after detection of unusual vehicle conditions by the unusual-condition detection section;

a drive recorder for acquiring at least one of image information and sound information during an interval when the vehicle is being in motion; and

a security device for acquiring at least one of image information and sound information during an interval when the vehicle is parked, wherein

the unusual-condition detection section is an impact detection section for detecting impact given to the vehicle,

the storage control section includes a recorder-side control portion included in the drive recorder and a security device-side control portion included in the security device,

the acquisition section includes a security device-side acquisition portion included in the security device, for acquiring at least one of image information and sound information of the interior of the vehicle,

the storage section includes a recorder-side storage portion which is included in the drive recorder and is capable of storing therein the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion,

the security device-side control portion-effects transmission of the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion from the security device to the drive recorder at a transmission interval that varies according to whether a value of a signal issued from the impact detection section is smaller than, or larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and

the recorder-side control portion allows the recorder-side storage portion to store therein the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion when a value of a signal issued from the impact detection section is smaller than the predetermined threshold that is transmitted from the security device, and the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion when a value of a signal issued from the impact detection section is larger than or equal to the predetermined threshold that is transmitted from the security device at different storage intervals.

5. The information storage apparatus of claim 4,

wherein the recorder-side control portion effects setting of an interval of time at which the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion when a value of a signal issued from the impact detection section is larger than or equal to the predetermined threshold that is transmitted from the security device is stored in the recorder-side storage portion, to be shorter than an interval of time at which the information acquired by the security device-side acquisition portion when a value of a signal issued from the impact detection section is smaller than the predetermined threshold that is transmitted from the security device is stored in the recorder-side storage portion.