Vehicular image processing apparatus and method of sharing data using the same

• US 9,324,201 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2014
• Issued: 04/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Discovery Co., Ltd., Thinkware Systems Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Discovery Co., Ltd., Thinkware Systems Corporation
• Inventors: Jun, Dong Sok
• Primary Examiner(s): MARC-COLEMAN, MARTHE Y
• Application Number:
  US14/263,280
• Publication Number:
  US 20140324247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 729 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/24, 701/28, 701/486, 701/302, 340/436, 340/903, 340/988
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0866 the electronic data carrier being a digital video recorder in combination with video camera

Abstract

Provided are a vehicular image processing apparatus and a method of sharing data using the same that may verify a driving route of a vehicle or detect and share a location of a vehicle by analyzing recorded images of the image processing apparatus, for example, a black box, thereby increasing data usage and utilization.

Claims

1. A vehicular image processing apparatus mountable in a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a camera module to acquire an external image of the vehicle;

an impact detector to detect an accident event occurring with respect to the vehicle;

a controller to access an external server to request for recorded data associated with the accident event in the external server; and

a communication unit to receive the recorded data from the external server,

wherein the controller is configured to determine an operation mode based on at least one of the external image acquired by the camera module and detection of the accident event by the impact detector, and upload the external image of the vehicle to a backup server in response to determining that the operation mode is a normal mode in which the accident event is not detected, and upload the external image of the vehicle to the external server to be shared via the network in response to determining that the operation mode is a sharing mode in which the accident event is detected,

wherein upon detecting, by the impact detector, the accident event occurring with respect to the vehicle, the controller is configured to control a peripheral vehicle to transmit the recorded data to the external server.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication unit receives the recorded data from the external server based on an access authority set for the recorded data.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the access authority is set in phases for at least one data type included in the recorded data.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the access authority is set for an entity that accesses the recorded data.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the access authority is set based on whether the vehicle and the peripheral vehicle are manufactured by the same manufacturer.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the recorded data comprises at least one of driving information corresponding to the accident event, location information corresponding to the accident event, and an external image corresponding to the accident event.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller sets an access authority by generating recorded data comprising the external image, and

the communication unit transmits recorded data for which the access authority is set to the external server.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the external server is configured to provide a social networking service (SNS).

9. A vehicular image processing apparatus mountable in a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a camera module to acquire an external image of the vehicle;

a controller to generate recorded data comprising the external image, wherein the controller sets an access authority for the generated recorded data corresponding to an accident event when it is detected the accident event occurs in a vicinity of the vehicle; and

a communication unit to transmit the recorded data to a backup server in a normal mode, and automatically transmit the recorded data for which the access authority is set to an external server to be shared via a network upon detecting the accident event by the controller.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller analyzes the acquired external image, and generates the recorded data corresponding to the accident event when an occurrence of the accident event is verified.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

a microphone to acquire an external sound of the vehicle,

wherein the controller analyzes the acquired external sound, and generates recorded data corresponding to the accident event when an occurrence of the accident event is verified.

12. A data sharing method of a vehicular image processing apparatus mountable in a vehicle, the method comprising:

acquiring, by using a camera module in the vehicle, an external image of the vehicle;

determine an operation mode based on the external image acquired by the camera module;

detecting an accident event occurring with respect to the vehicle;

uploading the external image of the vehicle to a backup server in response to determining that the operation mode is a normal mode in which the accident event is not detected;

uploading the external image of the vehicle to an external server to be shared via a network in response to determining that the operation mode is a sharing mode in which the accident event is detected and controlling a peripheral vehicle to transmit recorded data associated with the accident event to the external server;

accessing the external server to request for the recorded data associated with the accident event in the external server; and

receiving the recorded data from the external server.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

communicating with the external server to receive the recorded data.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the communicating comprises receiving the recorded data from the external server based on an access authority set for the recorded data.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the access authority is set in phases for at least one data type included in the recorded data.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the access authority is set for an entity that accesses the recorded data based on whether the vehicle and the peripheral vehicle are manufactured by the same manufacturer.