JP2020135552A - Image provision system and image provision method - Google Patents

Abstract

To effectively utilize a photographic image in a drive recorder without troublesome procedures by a user.SOLUTION: An image provision system includes: a drive recorder; an imaging device configured to photograph a license plate of a vehicle; a first control unit configured to associate character information of an extracted license plate, identification information of the imaging device and photographed date information with each other; a second control unit configured to associate the character information of the license plate, the identification information of the imaging device, photographed date information and installation place information of the imaging device with each other and manage the same; a third control unit configured to associate respective pieces of information acquired from the second control unit, user information of the vehicle of the photographed license plate and identification information of the drive recorder with each other and manage the same, and then associate the information associated by the second control unit and photographic images in the drive recorder before or after the date when the imaging device has taken the license plate with each other and manage the same; and an image provision unit configured to provide the photographic images in the drive recorder for a user having succeeded in authentication processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present disclosure relates to an image providing system and an image providing method for providing an image taken by a drive recorder.

Drive recorders that take images of the surroundings of vehicles are widespread. Images taken with a drive recorder are often used for the purpose of reproducing and verifying when involved in an accident or some kind of trouble. Since recent drive recorders can automatically capture high-quality images, a proposal has been made to make the images captured by the drive recorder available for viewing (Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2007-98865

However, in Patent Document 1, the user must specify in advance the place where the image for viewing is taken, which is troublesome to operate. In addition, even if the user specifies the shooting location in advance on a map or the like, it is not known whether or not a good-looking image can be taken unless the user actually visits the site, so in the end, the user decides the shooting location on site. In reality, it is necessary to specify it, which requires time and effort for the user. Further, since the drive recorder continuously shoots while the vehicle is running, it takes an enormous amount of time to extract a desired image from the shot images.

The present disclosure provides an image providing system and an image providing method that can effectively use an image taken by a drive recorder for viewing without bothering the user.

In order to solve the above problems, in one aspect of the present disclosure, a drive recorder mounted on the vehicle and taking an image of the surroundings of the vehicle is used.
An imaging device that is installed at a specific point and photographs the license plate of a vehicle that has passed near the specific point.
A first control device that extracts character information of the license plate from a photographed image of the photographing device and associates the extracted character information of the license plate with the identification information of the photographing device and the photographing date and time information by the photographing device. ,
The character information of the license plate associated with the first control device, the identification information of the photographing device, the shooting date and time information are acquired, and the acquired information and the photographing device that photographed the license plate The second control device that manages the installation location information in association with each other,
Each information associated with the second control device is acquired, and each acquired information is associated with the photographed user information of the license plate vehicle and the identification information of the drive recorder mounted on the vehicle. A third control device that manages and manages each information associated with the second control device and images captured by the drive recorder before and after the date and time when the license plate was photographed by the photographing device.
An input device for inputting predetermined authentication information including character information of the license plate by a user of the vehicle of the license plate photographed by the photographing device.
An authentication unit that performs authentication processing based on the authentication information input by the input device,
When the authentication process is successful by the authentication unit, an image taken by the drive recorder corresponding to the license plate of the vehicle of the user who succeeded in the authentication process is acquired from the third control device and provided to the user. An image providing system including a unit is provided.

The predetermined authentication information input by the user of the vehicle may include character information of the license plate of the vehicle, an ID, and a password.

The first control device does not manage the installation location information of the photographing device, and associates the extracted character information of the license plate with the identification information of the photographing device and the photographing date and time information by the photographing device. After transmitting to the second control device, the captured image of the photographing device may be deleted.

The first control device and the second control device unidirectionally transmit the character information of the license plate extracted from the first control device to the second control device in association with the shooting date / time information by the shooting device. Only communication may be performed.

The second control device does not manage the user information of the vehicle, but includes the character information of the license plate, the shooting date / time information, the identification information of the shooting device that shot the license plate, and the installation of the shooting device. It may be managed in association with the place information.

A fourth control device for acquiring a photographed image of the drive recorder, identification information of the drive recorder, and user information of a vehicle equipped with the drive recorder via the Internet is provided.
The third control device may acquire the photographed image of the drive recorder, the identification information of the drive recorder, and the user information of the vehicle equipped with the drive recorder in association with each other from the fourth control device.

A printing device may be provided which acquires an image selected by the user from the images provided by the image providing unit from the third control device and prints the image.

The third control device is
A fifth control device that manages the identification information of the drive recorder, the character information of the license plate, the ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) card information of the vehicle user, and the user information of the vehicle in association with each other.
It has a sixth control device that manages the identification information of the drive recorder, the character information of the license plate, and the captured image of the drive recorder in association with each other.
The image providing unit may acquire a photographed image of the drive recorder that matches the license plate of the vehicle of the user who has succeeded in the authentication process from the sixth control device and provide it to the user.

A seventh control device that registers privilege information regarding at least one of products and paid services,
Calculation of application rate for calculating the application rate of the privilege information given to the user of the vehicle of the license plate photographed by the photographing device based on each information managed by the third control device and the privilege information. Department and
A privilege information providing unit that provides the privilege information reflecting the application rate to the user may be provided.

The privilege information includes discount information,
The application rate calculated by the application rate calculation unit includes the discount rate of the discount information.
The privilege information providing unit may provide the discount information reflecting the discount rate to the user.

In another aspect of the present invention, a step of taking an image of the surroundings of the vehicle with a drive recorder mounted on the vehicle, and
The process of photographing the license plate of a vehicle that has passed the specific point with an imaging device installed at a specific point, and
The character information of the license plate is extracted from the photographed image of the photographing device, and the extracted character information of the license plate is associated with the photographing date and time information by the photographing device and transmitted from the first control device to the second control device. Process and
The character information of the license plate associated with the first control device and the shooting date / time information are acquired by the second control device, and each of the acquired information and the identification information of the license plate in which the license plate is photographed are acquired. And the process of managing the installation location information of the photographing device in association with the second control device.
Each information associated with the second control device is acquired by the third control device, each acquired information, the user information of the vehicle of the license plate photographed, and the drive recorder mounted on the vehicle. The identification information is managed in association with the third control device, and each information associated with the second control device and the photographed image of the drive recorder before and after the date and time when the license plate was photographed by the photographing device are stored. The process of associating and managing with the third control device and
A process of performing authentication processing based on the authentication information input by the user of the vehicle of the license plate photographed by the photographing device by the input device, and
When the authentication process is successful, the process includes a step of acquiring a photographed image of the drive recorder matching the license plate of the vehicle of the user who succeeded in the authentication process from the third control device and providing the user with the photographed image. An image providing method is provided.

According to the present disclosure, the captured image of the drive recorder can be effectively used for viewing without bothering the user.

The block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the image providing system by 1st Embodiment of this disclosure. A flowchart showing a processing procedure for transmitting an image taken by a photographing device to a camera control server. The figure which shows an example of the license plate. A flowchart showing a processing procedure for transmitting information from the camera control server to the license plate management server. A flowchart showing a processing procedure for transmitting information from the license plate management server to the database server. A flowchart showing a processing procedure for uploading an image from a drive recorder to an image management server. The figure which shows an example of the user registration screen displayed on the display panel of a smartphone or the like. The figure which shows an example of the license plate authentication screen. A flowchart showing a predetermined procedure when a user of a drive recorder accesses an image managed by an image management server. The figure which shows an example of the photograph viewing screen. The figure which shows an example of a map. The figure which shows the screen instructing the upload of an image. A flowchart showing a processing procedure for automatically registering a captured image in an image management server. The block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the image providing system by the 2nd Embodiment of this disclosure. The figure which shows the photograph selection screen. The figure which shows the photo purchase screen. The figure which shows the continuation of a photo purchase screen. The block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the image providing system by the 3rd Embodiment of this disclosure. The front view of the printing system of FIG. The figure which shows an example of the license plate authentication screen displayed on the display panel of a PC. The figure which shows the photograph selection screen displayed on the display panel of a PC. The figure which shows the screen during uploading which is displayed on the display panel of a PC. The figure which shows the screen which displays the image selected by the user and the number of sheets together. The figure which shows the screen which displays the service usage charge. The block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the image providing system by 4th Embodiment of this disclosure.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present specification and the attached drawings, some components are omitted, changed or simplified for the sake of easy understanding and illustration, but the explanations and figures are shown, but the same functions can be expected. The technical content shall also be included in the present embodiment for interpretation. Further, in the drawings attached to the present specification, the scale, the aspect ratio, etc. are appropriately changed from the actual ones and exaggerated for the convenience of illustration and comprehension.

(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image providing system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The image providing system 1 of FIG. 1 includes a drive recorder 2, a photographing device 3, a camera control server (first control device) 4, a number plate management server (second control device) 5, and a database server (third control). Device, 5th control device) 6, image management server (3rd control device, 6th control device) 7, web server (4th control device) 8, input device 15, authentication unit 16, and image provision It is provided with a unit 17.

Each of the servers 4 to 8 is a control device having one or more computers, and the specific configuration does not matter. Each server 4 to 8 has a recording device (not shown) for storing data and files. The recording device may be built into the computer or may be connected to the computer by wire or wirelessly. Further, at least a part of the servers 4 to 8 may be provided centrally in one place or may be provided in a distributed manner. Further, the functions of at least some of the servers 4 to 8 may be provided in the form of software executed by a computer.

The drive recorder 2 is mounted on the vehicle and continuously shoots a moving image in a specified range. The user can arbitrarily set the angle of view and the shooting direction of the moving image (hereinafter referred to as a shot image) shot by the drive recorder 2. When the user wants to use the captured image of the drive recorder 2 for viewing, it is necessary to adjust the angle of view and the shooting direction in advance so that the scenery outside the vehicle can be photographed. Alternatively, when using the drive recorder 2 that shoots in the whole sky, that is, at an angle of view of 360 degrees, it is not necessary to specify the angle of view and the shooting direction.

The drive recorder 2 has a built-in camera for capturing a captured image and a recording device for recording the captured image. When the recording capacity of the recording device is full, the old captured image may be automatically deleted and a new captured image may be recorded. Alternatively, the captured image may be moved to a spare recording device, an image management server 7, or the like, which will be described later, before the recording capacity of the recording device is full.

The drive recorder 2 has a wireless communication function for wirelessly accessing the Internet. As will be described later, the drive recorder 2 can transmit the captured image to the image management server 7 via the Internet 9 and the web server 8. There are various wireless communication functions such as cellular communication such as 3G, 4G, 5G, wireless LAN (Local Area Network), Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication) using infrared rays, radio waves, electromagnetic waves, satellite communication, etc. It is a function to perform wireless communication by the wireless communication method of.

The drive recorder 2 can continuously shoot a moving image while the vehicle is running. Further, the drive recorder 2 may automatically stop shooting when the vehicle stops or the engine of the vehicle is turned off. Alternatively, the drive recorder 2 may shoot a moving image only for a period instructed by the user.

The photographing device 3 is installed at a specific point on the side of the road on which the vehicle travels. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that specific points are provided at a plurality of points and the photographing device 3 is installed at each point. The specific point where the photographing device 3 is installed is, for example, a photographing spot such as a sightseeing spot, such as a scenic place, a famous sightseeing spot, or a place that has become a hot topic.

The photographing device 3 is provided for photographing the license plate of the vehicle passing through the road. The photographing device 3 is a fixed-point camera that repeats an operation of photographing a predetermined direction at a predetermined angle of view at predetermined time intervals. Alternatively, a sensor for detecting a vehicle traveling on the road may be provided, and when the sensor detects the vehicle, the photographing device 3 may perform photographing.

The image captured by the photographing device 3 is transmitted to the camera control server 4 together with the photographing date and time information and the identification information (camera ID) of the photographing device 3. The camera control server 4 performs OCR (Optical Character Recognition) analysis from the captured image of the photographing device 3 to extract the character information of the license plate. Since there is a possibility that the character information cannot be correctly extracted from only one captured image, the character information of the license plate may be extracted based on the plurality of captured images captured by the photographing device 3.

The camera control server 4 associates the extracted character information of the license plate with the shooting date / time information and the identification information of the shooting device 3 and transmits the license plate management server 5 to the license plate management server 5.

Images taken from a plurality of shooting devices 3, shooting date and time information, and identification information of the shooting device 3 are sent to the camera control server 4, but where is the shooting device 3 installed in the camera control server 4? The information indicating that is not managed. This is so that even if the camera control server 4 is illegally accessed, it is not possible to specify the location where the captured image transmitted from each photographing device 3 is captured by the photographing device 3. As will be described later, the camera control server 4 temporarily holds the captured image from the photographing device 3, and the license plate management server 5 receives the character information of the license plate, the shooting date and time information, and the identification information of the photographing device 3. Delete the captured image etc. after sending.

The license plate management server 5 acquires the character information of the license plate associated with the camera control server 4, the identification information of the photographing device 3, and the photographing date and time information, and each acquired information and the installation location of the photographing device 3. Manage by associating with information. Based on this information, the license plate management server 5 can grasp when and where the vehicle of which license plate passed.

Communication between the camera control server 4 and the license plate management server 5 is one-way communication, and information can be transmitted from the camera control server 4 to the license plate management server 5, but information cannot be transmitted in the opposite direction.

The license plate management server 5 receives each information transmitted from the camera control server 4, records the completion of the reception process in a log, and notifies the camera control server 4 that the reception process is completed. Upon receiving the notification that the reception process is completed, the camera control server 4 confirms that the reception process has been performed correctly, and deletes the captured image or the like transmitted from the photographing device 3. Further, the camera control server 4 may delete the character information of the license plate analyzed by OCR and the shooting date / time information. As described above, since the camera control server 4 has the captured image or the like only temporarily, there is no possibility that the captured image is misused.

The database server 6 and the image management server 7 can be integrated into one server. These servers acquire each information associated with the license plate management server 5, and acquire each of the acquired information, the user information of the vehicle of the license plate photographed, and the identification information of the drive recorder 2 mounted on the vehicle. In addition to managing in association with each other, the photographing device 3 acquires the photographed images of the drive recorder 2 before and after the date and time when the license plate was photographed, and associates each information associated with the license plate management server 5 with the photographed image of the drive recorder 2. To manage.

More specifically, the database server 6 includes the identification information of the drive recorder 2 mounted on the vehicle of the license plate photographed and the character information of the license plate based on each information associated with the license plate management server 5. , ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) card information of the vehicle, user name, address, and telephone number are managed in association with each other.

In this way, since the database server 6 manages the personal information of the vehicle user, it is desirable that the information managed by the database server 6 is not transmitted to the license plate management server 5.

The image management server 7 manages the identification number of the drive recorder 2, the character information of the license plate, the captured image of the drive recorder 2, the shooting location information, and the shooting date / time information in association with each other. The captured image of the drive recorder 2 is an image acquired from the drive recorder 2 via the web server 8 as described later. When the captured image of the drive recorder 2 is a moving image, the image management server 7 may save the moving image as it is, or may save a still image for each frame included in the moving image.

As described above, the database server 6 mainly manages the character information, while the image management server 7 mainly manages the image information. However, as described above, the database server 6 and the image management server 7 are integrated into one server, the character information and the image information are associated with each other, and one unit together with each information transmitted from the license plate management server 5. It may be managed by the server.

The web server 8 is provided to send and receive information between the drive recorder 2 mounted on the vehicle, the database server 6 and the image management server 7, and the communication device owned by the user (input device 15 described later). Has been done. While the drive recorder 2 and the communication equipment owned by the user are owned by the user of each vehicle, the database server 6 and the image management server 7 manage an unspecified number of personal information. Therefore, the database server 6 and the image management server In order to prevent leakage of each information managed by 7, a web server 8 is provided between the communication device and drive recorder 2 owned by the user and the database server 6 and the image management server 7.

The web server 8 processes to upload the captured image of the drive recorder 2 to the image management server 7 via the Internet 9, and browses the image managed by the image management server 7 on the communication device owned by the user via the Internet 9. And perform the processing. When the drive recorder 2 has a web browsing function and an input function, the drive recorder 2 can access the web server 8 via the Internet 9 and browse the images from the image management server 7 on the drive recorder 2. It may be.

The web server 8 can be accessed by a communication device such as a smartphone owned by the user. However, in order to enhance security, when the user's communication device requests access to the web server 8 via the Internet 9, the license plate authentication screen is displayed and the authentication process is performed. When the user of the drive recorder 2 inputs the character information, ID and password of the license plate of his / her vehicle on the license plate authentication screen, the web server 8 performs the authentication process based on these input information. If the authentication is successful, only the image information corresponding to the license plate that has been successfully authenticated can be downloaded and viewed from the image management server 7. When the drive recorder 2 has a web browsing function and an input function, the license plate authentication screen may be displayed on the screen of the drive recorder 2 and the drive recorder 2 may perform the authentication process.

In the input device 15, the user of the license plate vehicle photographed by the photographing device 3 inputs predetermined authentication information including the character information of the license plate. The input device 15 is a communication device such as a smartphone owned by the user of the vehicle. Alternatively, when the drive recorder 2 has an input function, the drive recorder 2 may be used as the input device 15.
The authentication unit 16 performs an authentication process based on the authentication information input by the input device 15. For example, the web server 8 also serves as the authentication unit 16. Since the web server 8 also serves as the authentication unit 16, if the authentication process fails, the user's communication device or drive recorder 2 can be prohibited from accessing the database server 6 or the image management server 7, and security can be improved. ..
When the image providing unit 17 succeeds in the authentication process by the authentication unit 16, the image providing unit 17 acquires the captured image of the drive recorder 2 corresponding to the license plate of the vehicle of the user who succeeded in the authentication process from the image management server (third control device) 7. And provide it to the user. The image providing unit 17 also serves as, for example, a web server 8.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for transmitting an image captured by the photographing device 3 to the camera control server 4. First, the photographing device 3 installed at a specific point photographs the license plate of the vehicle passing near the point (step S1). The photographing device 3 transmits the photographed license plate image to the camera control server 4 (step S2). The camera control server 4 performs OCR analysis on the license plate image and acquires the character information of the license plate (step S3).

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a license plate. In step S3 of FIG. 2, in the case of the license plate of FIG. 3, the character information "Shinagawa 580 12-59" is acquired.

Next, the camera control server 4 associates the character information of the license plate with the identification information (camera ID) of the photographing device 3 that has transmitted the license plate image, and the photographing date and time information (step S4).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for transmitting information from the camera control server 4 to the license plate management server 5. First, the camera control server 4 transmits the character information of the license plate, the identification information (camera ID) of the photographing device 3 that transmitted the license plate image, and the photographing date and time information to the license plate management server 5 (step S11). ..

The license plate management server 5 logs that it has received such information (step S12). The license plate management server 5 is provided with a table in advance of the correspondence between the identification information of the photographing device 3 and the installation location of the photographing device 3, and by referring to this table, the received identification information of the photographing device 3 is provided. The installation location is specified from (step S13).

Next, the license plate management server 5 registers the character information of the license plate, the identification information of the photographing device 3, the photographing date and time information, and the installation location information of the photographing device 3 in association with each other (step S14). Next, the license plate management server 5 records the completion of registration in a log and notifies the camera control server 4 that the registration is completed (step S15).

Upon receiving the notification that the registration is completed, the camera control server 4 deletes the information transmitted to the license plate management server 5 (step S16).

As described above, the license plate management server 5 manages the character information of the license plate, the identification information of the photographing device 3, the shooting date and time information, and the installation location information of the photographing device 3 in association with each other, and the vehicle of the specific license plate You can know when and where you passed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for transmitting information from the license plate management server 5 to the database server 6. First, the database server 6 transmits the character information of the license plate, the identification information of the photographing device 3, the shooting date and time information, and the installation location information of the photographing device 3 to the database server 6 (step S21). The database server 6 is provided in advance with a database in which the character information of the license plate, the user information of the license plate, and the identification number of the drive recorder 2 mounted on the vehicle of the user are associated with each other. By referring to this database, the database server 6 acquires the license plate user information and the identification number of the drive recorder 2 from the received license plate character information, and obtains the user information, the installation location of the photographing device 3, and the location. It is managed in association with the identification number of the drive recorder 2 (step S22).

By the process of FIG. 5, the database server 6 can identify who owns a vehicle with a specific license plate, and when and where this vehicle passed.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for uploading an image from the drive recorder 2 to the image management server 7. The user needs to register the drive recorder 2 as a user for the image management server 7 and the database server 6 prior to performing the process shown in FIG. User registration can be performed, for example, by connecting to a specific site on the Internet 9 with a communication device such as a smartphone owned by the user. By registering as a user, the user can upload the captured image of the drive recorder 2 owned by the user to the image management server 7, and download or browse the uploaded captured image.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a user registration screen 10 displayed on a display panel of a smartphone or the like. On the user registration screen 10 of FIG. 7, the character information of the user's license plate, the identification information of the drive recorder 2 (dorareco ID), the password, the ETC card number, and the user's identification information (user ID) are displayed. , A field 10a for inputting a user name, an address, and a telephone number is provided. When the user inputs each information in the user registration screen 10, the information is registered in the database server 6 via the Internet 9 and the Web server 8. Further, the character information of the license plate, the identification information of the drive recorder 2, and the password are also registered in the image management server 7.

After the user registration is completed, the user accesses a specific site on the Internet 9 with his / her own smartphone or the like and displays the license plate authentication screen 11 (step S31). FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the license plate authentication screen 11. The license plate authentication screen 11 is provided with a field for inputting the character information of the license plate, the ID of the drive recorder 2, and the password. When the user inputs these information and presses the authentication button 11a, each of the input information is input to the web server 8 via the Internet 9. The web server 8 performs an authentication process based on the authentication information input by the user (step S32). If the authentication information entered in each input field of the license plate authentication screen 11 matches the user registration information, the web server 8 determines that the authentication is successful.

If the authentication by the web server 8 fails, the user is prompted to input each information on the license plate authentication screen 11 again (step S33). If the authentication is successful, the image in the drive recorder 2 is uploaded to the image management server 7 via the Internet 9 and the web server 8 (step S34). The image management server 7 manages the identification number (dorareco ID) of the drive recorder 2, the character information of the license plate, the captured image of the drive recorder 2, and the captured position information of the captured image in association with each other.

The shooting position information is information acquired by the drive recorder 2 in association with the shot image using a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor possessed by the vehicle or the drive recorder 2, and the shot image is uploaded to the image management server 7. When doing so, the shooting position information is also uploaded in association with the shot image.

The captured image of the drive recorder 2 may be deleted from the drive recorder 2 or may be left after the upload to the image management server 7 is completed. The user may be able to select whether or not to delete the captured image of the drive recorder 2 after uploading.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a predetermined procedure when the user of the drive recorder 2 accesses the image managed by the image management server 7. First, the user accesses the web server 8 via the Internet 9 with his / her own smartphone or the like, and displays the license plate authentication screen 11 similar to that in FIG. 8 (step S41).

When the user inputs information in each input field in the number plate authentication screen 11 and selects the authentication button 11a, each input information is input to the web server 8 via the Internet 9 and is input to the web server 8 on the web server 8. The authentication process is performed (step S42).

If the authentication by the web server 8 fails, the user is prompted to input each information on the license plate authentication screen 11 again (step S43). If the authentication is successful, the user is allowed to access the image managed by the image management server 7 (step S44). Here, the access means, for example, viewing a captured image of the drive recorder 2 mounted on the user's vehicle, and the captured image can be viewed on the display panel of the user's own smartphone or the like. Since these captured images were captured by the drive recorder 2 owned by the user, a part or all of the captured images can be downloaded to a smartphone or the like if the user wishes to download as well as view the images. You may do so.

FIG. 10A is a diagram showing an example of the photo viewing screen 12. On the photo viewing screen 12 of FIG. 10A, the character information of the user's license plate, the shooting location selection unit 12a, the shooting date selection unit 12b, the map selection button 12c, the search button 12d, and the captured image are reduced. The thumbnail image 12e is provided.

When the user selects any of the thumbnail images 12e, the thumbnail image 12e may be enlarged and displayed, or a moving image of the captured image may be played back.

Further, when the user selects the map selection button 12c described as "map", the map 13 as shown in FIG. 10B is displayed. A place where the captured image is taken is marked in the map 13, and when the user selects any of the marked places, the image 13a taken at that place is displayed.

The captured image of the drive recorder 2 managed by the image management server 7 is performed when the user voluntarily instructs the upload of the captured image, but when the user does not instruct the upload, the user takes the photograph of FIG. 10A. When accessing the viewing screen 12, the captured image cannot be viewed. In this case, for example, the screen 14 of FIG. 10C is displayed. The screen 14 is provided with a button 14a for instructing the upload of an image, an end button 14b for canceling the upload, and a button 14c for displaying the photo viewing screen 12. When the user selects this button 14a, the captured image is uploaded from the drive recorder 2 to the image management server 7, and the user can view the captured image after the upload is completed.

If the number of users who use the image providing system 1 according to the present embodiment increases, the process of registering the captured image in the image management server 7 may be concentrated at one time, and the processing load of the image management server 7 becomes large. Therefore, it takes time to register the captured image, or the captured image is not registered normally. In order to prevent these problems, the captured image may be automatically registered.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for automatically registering a captured image in the image management server 7. Prior to performing the process of FIG. 11, it is necessary to register the user of the drive recorder 2 on the user registration screen 10 of FIG. 7.

When the character information of the license plate photographed by the photographing device 3 is newly registered in the database server 6, the database server 6 notifies the image management server 7 that the character information of the license plate is newly registered. (Step S51).

Upon receiving the notification in step S51, the image management server 7 instructs the web server 8 to upload the captured image of the corresponding drive recorder 2 (step S52). The web server 8 accesses the corresponding drive recorder 2 according to the instruction (step S53). At this time, it is determined whether or not the corresponding drive recorder 2 is energized, such as when the engine of the vehicle equipped with the corresponding drive recorder 2 is stopped (step S54). If the power is not supplied, uploading the captured image is stopped (step S55). When the corresponding drive recorder 2 is energized, the captured image captured by the corresponding drive recorder 2 is uploaded to the image management server 7 via the Internet 9 and the web server 8 (step S56).

According to the process of FIG. 11, the image management server 7 automatically responds to the license plate image taken by the photographing device 3 even if the user does not voluntarily perform the upload processing procedure. Since the drive recorder 2 is used to acquire the captured image, the captured image of the drive recorder 2 can be automatically uploaded to the image management server 7 and managed without bothering the user.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the license plate of the vehicle is photographed by the photographing device 3 installed at a specific point, and the drive recorder 2 is photographed starting from the time when the character information is extracted. Since the image is uploaded to the image management server 7 and managed in association with the character information of the license plate, the photographed image of the drive recorder 2 when the vehicle passes near the photographing device 3 can be provided to the user, and the drive recorder 2 can be provided. It is possible to effectively use the captured image of.

Further, the database server 6 and the image management server 7 manage the captured images of the drive recorder 2 possessed by the user, the personal information of the user, and the like, but security is taken to prevent leakage of such information. The captured image of the drive recorder 2 can be effectively used while giving consideration to.

Further, even if the camera control server 4 intentionally does not manage the information on the installation location of the photographing device 3 and the camera control server 4 can transmit the information to the license plate management server 5, the information in the opposite direction is obtained. Since transmission is not possible, for example, even if the camera control server 4 is illegally accessed, there is no risk of the user's license plate image or personal information being leaked.

(Second Embodiment)
In the second embodiment, the service of printing the captured image of the drive recorder 2 managed by the image management server 7 in response to the request of the user who owns the drive recorder 2 is provided.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image providing system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The image providing system 1 of FIG. 12 is a configuration in which a printing system (printing apparatus) 20 is added to the configuration of FIG.

The print system 20 is connected to the image management server 7 via a network 21 such as the Internet 9 or a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The print system 20 prints an image transmitted from the image management server 7 via the network 21.

A user who wants to use the print service of the captured image of the drive recorder 2 managed by the image management server 7 displays the license plate authentication screen 11 of FIG. 8 on the display panel of a communication device such as a smartphone, and displays the license plate authentication screen 11 in the page. Enter the information in each input field and select the authentication button 11a. If the authentication is successful, the photo selection screen 22 as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed. The shooting location 22a and the shooting date / time 22b on the photo selection screen 22 can be arbitrarily selected by the user, and when the user selects a new shooting location 22a and the shooting date / time 22b, the shooting location 22a and the shooting date / time 22b are related to each other. The thumbnail image 22c is displayed. Below each thumbnail image 22c, a number of sheets button 22d set when the thumbnail image 22c is desired to be printed is displayed. When the user completes the setting of the number of sheets to be printed, the photo purchase screen 23 as shown in FIG. 14A is displayed. In addition to displaying the number of printed images of each image, radio buttons 23a to 23d for selecting a payment method are displayed in the screen 23.

For example, when the user selects the payment radio button 23a with the ETC card, the printing fee is added to the ETC fee. In addition, when the user selects the payment radio button 23b other than the ETC card, a field for inputting the user's personal information, etc., a radio button 23c for selecting convenience store payment, and a radio button for selecting payment with another credit card. 23d is displayed.

When the next button 23e in the screen of FIG. 14A is selected, the screen 24 of FIG. 14B is displayed. The screen of FIG. 14B is provided with radio buttons 24a and 24b for selecting the destination information of the photographic paper on which the image is printed. When the user selects the radio button 24a, the photographic paper is sent to the user's home managed by the database server 6. When the user selects the radio button 24b, the photographic paper is sent to any destination information input by the user. After selecting the radio buttons 24a or 24b, the user selects the confirmation button 24c to complete the photo purchase process.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the captured image of the drive recorder 2 managed by the image management server 7 is transmitted to the printing system 20 to be printed according to the user's request, and the printed printing paper is sent to the user. Therefore, even if the user does not have a printer, he / she can select any image to be printed from the captured images of the drive recorder 2 with a simple button operation and order printing, which improves the convenience of the user. ..

(Third Embodiment)
In the third embodiment, the user goes to the installation location of the print system 20 and operates the print system 20 to print the captured image of the drive recorder 2 managed by the image management server 7.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image providing system 1 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. The image providing system 1 of FIG. 15 includes a printing system 20 in which a user instructs printing on the spot and prints on the spot.

The print system 20 according to the present embodiment is assumed to be installed in a downtown area, a home appliance mass retailer, a shopping center, an accommodation facility, or the like. The print system 20 can print an image taken by a user with a smartphone or the like, or an image stored in a memory card or a USB memory held by the user on the spot. In this embodiment, the photographed image of the drive recorder 2 can be printed by using the printing system 20 in such a city.

FIG. 16 is a front view of the print system 20 of FIG. The print system 20 of FIG. 16 includes a main body 20a having a built-in printer and a PC (Personal Computer) 20b arranged on the main body 20a.

A top plate 20c is provided on the upper surface of the main body 20a. The top plate 20c is provided with a display panel 20d capable of touch operation. Further, the display panel 20e of the PC 20b can also be touch-operated.

A media insertion slot 20f for an SD card, a USB memory, or the like is provided between the main body 20a and the PC 20b. A coin slot 20g, a bill slot 20h, and a change return slot 20i are provided on the right side of the front surface of the main body 20a. A front door 20j is provided on the left side of the front surface of the main body 20a. A printer is arranged inside the front door 20j. The printed matter printed by the printer is collected in the collecting part at the lower end of the discharging part provided on the front door 20j.

The user goes to the installation location of the print system 20, displays the license plate authentication screen 11 on the screen of his / her smartphone or the like, inputs necessary information, and performs the authentication process, as in the second embodiment. .. If the authentication is successful, the thumbnail image of the captured image of the drive recorder 2 managed by the image management server 7 is displayed on the screen of the smartphone or the like. When an image to be printed is selected and printing is instructed, an image file is transmitted from the image management server 7 to the printing system 20 to print on photographic paper.

A modified example in which the user performs license plate authentication with the print system 20 without using his / her own smartphone can be considered. In this case, the user performs license plate authentication on the display panel 20e of the PC 20b of the printing system 20. FIG. 17 shows an example of the license plate authentication screen 11 displayed on the display panel 20e of the PC 20b. According to this screen 11, the user inputs the character information, ID and password of the license plate of the owned vehicle, and selects the authentication button 11a. If the authentication is successful, the photo selection screen 22 is displayed on the display panel 20e of the PC 20b as shown in FIG. 18A. When the user selects the shooting location 22a and the shooting date and time 22b in the photo selection screen 22, the thumbnail image 22c of the shot image of the drive recorder 2 shot at the corresponding shooting location and shooting date and time is displayed. When the captured image is a moving image, the thumbnail image 22c of the still image is displayed. At this time, if the captured image of the drive recorder 2 has not yet been uploaded to the print system 20, the print system 20 accesses the image management server 7 and acquires the corresponding captured image from the image management server 7. Alternatively, the print system 20 may acquire a captured image from the drive recorder 2 via the Internet 9 and the web server 8. Alternatively, the print system 20 may acquire the captured image from the smartphone or the like when the captured image of the drive recorder 2 has already been downloaded to the user's smartphone or the like. During the uploading of the captured image to the print system 20, as shown on the screen 14 of FIG. 18B, it is displayed that the image is being uploaded, and the user is urged to wait until the upload is completed.

When the user completes the selection of the image to be printed on the photo selection screen 22, the image selected by the user and the number of images are displayed together as shown in the screen 25 of FIG. 18C. When the user selects the confirmation button 25a, the service usage fee is displayed as shown on the screen 26 of FIG. 18D. When the user inserts money for the service usage fee into the coin slot or bill slot of the print system 20, printing is started.

As described above, in the third embodiment, the photographed image of the drive recorder 2 can be easily printed by the printing system 20 installed in the city. It is conceivable that the print instruction at that time is given by a communication device such as a smartphone owned by the user, or by the screen operation of the print system 20. The desired image can be printed.

According to the present embodiment, for example, when a user drives a car, finishes the drive of the day, and arrives at the accommodation facility, the print system 20 in the accommodation facility displays a superb view image of the day on the spot. Users who can print and do not fully enjoy the scenery while driving can look back on today's drive.

(Fourth Embodiment)
As an additional function of the image providing system 1 according to the first to third embodiments described above, privilege information can be given to the user of the vehicle equipped with the drive recorder 2.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image providing system 1 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. The image providing system 1 of FIG. 19 is an image providing system 1 of FIG. 15 with a privilege information management server 27 added. The print system 20 of FIG. 19 may have a configuration in which a privilege information management server (seventh control device) 27 is added to the image providing system 1 of FIG. 1 or FIG.

The privilege information management server 27 registers privilege information regarding at least one of the product and the paid service. Further, the privilege information management server 27 applies the privilege information given to the user of the vehicle of the license plate photographed by the photographing device 3 based on the information and the privilege information managed by the database server 6 and the image management server 7. It has an application rate calculation unit 27a for calculating the rate.

Here, the privilege information may include, for example, discount information. In this case, the application rate calculated by the application rate calculation unit 27a includes the discount rate of the discount information, and the privilege information management server 27 provides the privilege information providing unit 27b that reflects the discount rate to the user. Has. The privilege information providing unit 27b provides discount information to the communication device 15 such as a smartphone owned by the user via the Internet 9.

An example of the discount information is the discount information according to the shooting location of the captured image of the drive recorder 2 and the distance from the automobile inspection registration office of the Land Transport Office of the user's home base described on the license plate. That is, it is the distance from the above-mentioned automobile inspection registration office to the photographing device 3 in which the license plate is photographed.

More specifically, when the distance is 100 km or less, there is no discount. When the distance is 101 km to 500 km, the discount rate is 20%. When the distance is 500 km or more, the discount rate is 30%.

The above-mentioned distance may start from the registered address of the ETC card. Further, the user may be able to select or set where to start the calculation of the distance. However, if the hiragana characters on the license plate are "wa" or "re", it is a rental car, so it is desirable to calculate the distance starting from the registered address of the user's ETC card.

The discount information can be set not only by the distance but also by various conditions. For example, when the license plate is a Shinagawa number, the image is printed when the license plate is photographed by the photographing device 3 in the area with "river" (for example, Kanagawa prefecture, Kagawa prefecture, Kawasaki city, etc.). You may discount the price. This is just an example, and under what conditions and how the discount rate is set is arbitrary.

A specific example of this embodiment will be described below. When Mr. A, who is in the Shinagawa Number vehicle, goes to Marugamemachi, Kagawa Prefecture to eat udon, (1) when he travels from his home to his destination by car, and (2) when he gets on the train from the nearest station to his home. However, it is conceivable that you may get on a rental car from the middle and go to your destination.

In the case of (1), the Shinagawa number is registered at "1-12-17 Higashioi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo" by the Land Transport Bureau in charge, so the tollgate that was the farthest from the above address in this process. Calculate the highway toll by the distance to.

For example, if the distance is 685 km, a 30% discount rate will be applied. In addition, since the destination, Marugamemachi, Kagawa Prefecture, matches the "river" on the license plate, a specific area discount will be applied and a 20% discount rate will be applied.

Therefore, if the ETC toll on the expressway is 10 million yen, it will be discounted to 10,000 x (1-0.3) x (1-0.2) = 5,600 yen.

In the case of (2), for example, it is assumed that Mr. A travels from Tokyo Station to Shin-Kobe Station by Shinkansen, rents a car around Shin-Kobe Station, and uses his ETC card to move to Marugamemachi, Kagawa Prefecture. In this case, since the hiragana characters on the license plate are "wa" or "re", the discount rate may be determined based on the distance from the user's address to the tollgate farthest.

In the above-mentioned example, as the privilege information, the discount rate of the high-speed charge is set according to the distance to explain the example of discounting the high-speed charge, but the privilege information is not necessarily limited to the discount information. For example, the points may be changed according to the distance, and products and services according to the size of the points may be given to the user. For example, the number of sheets that can be printed by the user on the printing system 20 for free may be changed according to the size of the points. Alternatively, depending on the size of the points, special products and the like may be provided to the user free of charge or at a discounted rate.

As described above, in the fourth embodiment, various privilege information can be given to the user based on the character information of the license plate photographed by the photographing device 3. The number of users who go out to check the place where the shooting device 3 is installed because the privilege information is given based on the character information of the license plate that was shot without having to go through the troublesome procedure such as registration by the user himself. It is possible to increase the number of people who visit tourist spots, which leads to attracting tourist spots.

At least a part of the image providing system 1 described in the above-described embodiment may be configured by hardware or software. When configured by software, a program that realizes at least a part of the functions of the image providing system 1 may be stored in a photographing medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM, read by a computer, and executed. The photographing medium is not limited to a removable one such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and may be a fixed type photographing medium such as a hard disk device or a memory.

Further, a program that realizes at least a part of the functions of the image providing system 1 may be distributed via a communication line (including wireless communication) such as the Internet 9. Further, the program may be encrypted, modulated, compressed, and distributed via a wired line or wireless line such as the Internet 9, or stored in a photographing medium.

The aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the individual embodiments described above, but also include various modifications that can be conceived by those skilled in the art, and the effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the contents described above. That is, various additions, changes and partial deletions are possible without departing from the conceptual idea and purpose of the present disclosure derived from the contents defined in the claims and their equivalents.

1 Image providing system, 2 Drive recorder, 3 Imaging device, 4 Camera control server (1st control device), 5 Number plate management server (2nd control device), 6 Database server (5th control device), 7 Image management server (3rd control device, 6th control device), 8 web server (4th control device), 9 Internet, 10 user registration screen, 11 number plate authentication screen, 12 photo viewing screen, 13 map, 16 authentication unit, 17 images Provision unit, 20 print system (print device), 27 privilege information management server (7th control device), 27a application rate calculation unit

Claims (11)

A drive recorder that is mounted on the vehicle and captures images of the surroundings of the vehicle,
An imaging device that is installed at a specific point and photographs the license plate of a vehicle that has passed near the specific point.
A first control device that extracts character information of the license plate from a photographed image of the photographing device and associates the extracted character information of the license plate with the identification information of the photographing device and the photographing date and time information by the photographing device. ,
The character information of the license plate associated with the first control device, the identification information of the photographing device, the shooting date and time information are acquired, and the acquired information and the photographing device that photographed the license plate The second control device that manages the installation location information in association with each other,
Each information associated with the second control device is acquired, and each acquired information is associated with the photographed user information of the license plate vehicle and the identification information of the drive recorder mounted on the vehicle. A third control device that manages and manages each information associated with the second control device and images captured by the drive recorder before and after the date and time when the license plate was photographed by the photographing device.
An input device for inputting predetermined authentication information including character information of the license plate by a user of the vehicle of the license plate photographed by the photographing device.
An authentication unit that performs authentication processing based on the authentication information input by the input device,
When the authentication process is successful by the authentication unit, an image taken by the drive recorder corresponding to the license plate of the vehicle of the user who succeeded in the authentication process is acquired from the third control device and provided to the user. An image providing system equipped with a department. The image providing system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined authentication information input by the user of the vehicle includes character information of the license plate of the vehicle, an ID, and a password. The first control device does not manage the installation location information of the photographing device, and associates the extracted character information of the license plate with the identification information of the photographing device and the photographing date and time information by the photographing device. The image providing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the captured image of the photographing device is deleted after transmission to the second control device. The first control device and the second control device unidirectionally transmit the character information of the license plate extracted from the first control device to the second control device in association with the shooting date / time information by the shooting device. The image providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein only communication is performed. The second control device does not manage the user information of the vehicle, but includes the character information of the license plate, the shooting date / time information, the identification information of the shooting device that shot the license plate, and the installation of the shooting device. The image providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which manages the location information in association with each other. It is provided with a fourth control device that acquires a photographed image of the drive recorder, identification information of the drive recorder, and user information of a vehicle equipped with the drive recorder via the Internet.
The third control device obtains from the fourth control device a photographed image of the drive recorder, identification information of the drive recorder, and user information of a vehicle equipped with the drive recorder in association with each other. The image providing system according to any one of the items. The image providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a printing device that acquires and prints an image selected by the user from the images provided by the image providing unit from the third control device. .. The third control device is
A fifth control device that manages the identification information of the drive recorder, the character information of the license plate, the ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) card information of the vehicle user, and the user information of the vehicle in association with each other.
It has a sixth control device that manages the identification information of the drive recorder, the character information of the license plate, and the captured image of the drive recorder in association with each other.
The image providing unit obtains a photographed image of the drive recorder matching the license plate of the vehicle of the user who has succeeded in the authentication process from the sixth control device and provides the user with the photographed image. The image providing system according to any one of the items. A seventh control device that registers privilege information regarding at least one of products and paid services,
Calculation of application rate for calculating the application rate of the privilege information given to the user of the vehicle of the license plate photographed by the photographing device based on each information managed by the third control device and the privilege information. Department and
The image providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a privilege information providing unit that provides the privilege information reflecting the application rate to the user. The privilege information includes discount information,
The application rate calculated by the application rate calculation unit includes the discount rate of the discount information.
The image providing system according to claim 9, wherein the privilege information providing unit provides the user with the discount information reflecting the discount rate. The process of taking an image of the surroundings of the vehicle with the drive recorder mounted on the vehicle,
The process of photographing the license plate of a vehicle that has passed the specific point with an imaging device installed at a specific point, and
The character information of the license plate is extracted from the photographed image of the photographing device, and the extracted character information of the license plate is associated with the photographing date and time information by the photographing device and transmitted from the first control device to the second control device. Process and
The character information of the license plate associated with the first control device and the shooting date / time information are acquired by the second control device, and each of the acquired information and the identification information of the license plate in which the license plate is photographed are acquired. And the process of managing the installation location information of the photographing device in association with the second control device.
Each information associated with the second control device is acquired by the third control device, each acquired information, the user information of the vehicle of the license plate photographed, and the drive recorder mounted on the vehicle. The identification information is managed in association with the third control device, and each information associated with the second control device and the photographed image of the drive recorder before and after the date and time when the license plate was photographed by the photographing device are stored. The process of associating and managing with the third control device and
A process of performing authentication processing based on the authentication information input by the user of the vehicle of the license plate photographed by the photographing device by the input device, and
When the authentication process is successful, the process includes a step of acquiring a photographed image of the drive recorder matching the license plate of the vehicle of the user who succeeded in the authentication process from the third control device and providing the user with the photographed image. Image provision method.

Images