Image server, image acquisition device, and image display terminal

Abstract

Images are efficiently collected or delivered so that uncomfortable feeling given to users who view picked images picked up at vehicles and delivered by an image server is lessened. An image server is so constructed that the following operation is performed: the picked image of the surroundings of a vehicle, picked up with a camera mounted on the vehicle, and the image pickup information of the picked image, including information about the image pickup point, are stored on a storing medium; and picked images stored on the storing medium are delivered to users who view received picked images. One is selected from among picked images inputted from a vehicle with respect to each of areas to which the image pickup points of those picked images belong based on the image pickup information and a predetermined selection condition. The selected picked image is stored on the storing medium.

1 . An image server comprising: 
 a storing medium for storing a picked image of surroundings of a vehicle, picked up with a camera mounted on the vehicle, and image pickup information of the picked image; and    a delivering means that causes the storing medium to store the inputted picked image and image pickup information of the picked image, and delivers a picked image stored on the storing medium to an image display terminal that displays a received picked image, wherein:    the image pickup information includes information about an image pickup point at which the picked image was picked up, and    the delivering means causes the storing medium to store one selected from among the inputted picked images with respect to each of segments of zones to which the image pickup points of these picked images belong based on the image pickup information and a predetermined selection condition.    
   
   
       2 . The image server according to  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the image pickup information includes information about a direction in which the vehicle was running when the picked image was picked up, and    the delivering means causes the storing medium to store one selected from among the inputted picked images with respect to each of segments of zones to which the image pickup points of those picked images belong and combinations of forward and backward directions in which the vehicle was running at a time of image pickup based on the image pickup information and a predetermined selection condition.    
   
   
       3 . An image server comprising: 
 a storing medium for storing a picked image of surroundings of a vehicle, picked up with a camera mounted on the vehicle, and image pickup information of the picked image; and    a delivering means that delivers a picked image stored on the storing medium to an image display terminal, wherein:    the image pickup information includes information about an image pickup point at which the picked image was picked up, and    the delivering means delivers to the image display terminal one selected from among the picked images stored on the storing medium with respect to each of segments of zones to which the image pickup points of those picked images belong based on the image pickup information and a predetermined selection condition.    
   
   
       4 . The image server according to  claim 3 , wherein: 
 the image pickup information includes information about a direction in which the vehicle was running when the picked image was picked up, and    the delivering means delivers to the image display terminal one selected from among the picked images stored on the storing medium with respect to each of segments of zones to which the image pickup points of those picked images belong and combinations of forward and backward directions in which the vehicle was running at a time of image pickup based on the image pickup information and a predetermined selection condition.    
   
   
       5 . The image server according to  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the image pickup information includes information about an image pickup time at which the picked image was picked up, and    the selection condition is such that the picked image whose image pickup time is latest in the segment should be preferentially selected.    
   
   
       6 . The image server according to  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the image pickup information includes information about a running speed at which the vehicle was when the picked image was picked up, and    the selection condition is such that the picked image picked up when the running speed of the vehicle was lowest in the segment should be preferentially selected.    
   
   
       7 . The image server according to  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the image pickup information includes information about weather under which the image pickup point was when the picked image was picked up, and    the selection condition is such that the picked image whose image pickup point was under fine weather at the time of image pickup in the segment should be preferentially selected.    
   
   
       8 . The image server according to  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the image pickup information includes information about an inclination at which the vehicle was when the picked image was picked up, and    the selection condition is such that the picked image picked up when the vehicle was at a smallest angle of inclination in the segment should be preferentially selected.    
   
   
       9 . The image server according to  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the image pickup information includes information indicating whether the vehicle was in an intersection when the picked image was picked up, and    the selection condition is such that the picked image picked up when the vehicle was in an intersection in the segment should be preferentially selected.    
   
   
       10 . The image server according to  claim 1 , comprising: 
 a storing medium for storing map information, wherein:    the delivering means determines whether the vehicle was in an intersection when the picked image was picked up, based on the map information and the image pickup information, and    the selection condition is such that the picked image picked up when the vehicle was in an intersection in the segment should be preferentially selected.    
   
   
       11 . The image server according to  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the inputted picked image is an omnidirectional image or an image obtained by converting the omnidirectional image, and the converting means shifts a position of display of the converted image so that the converted image is displayed in a predetermined orientation.    
   
   
       12 . An in-vehicle image acquisition device comprising: 
 an image pickup means that picks up an image of surroundings of a vehicle;    a present point identifying means that identifies a present point of the vehicle;    an amount of inclination identifying means that identifies an amount of inclination of the vehicle relative to a horizontal plane; and    a storing medium for storing a picked image picked up by the image pickup means, information about a present point at which the vehicle was when the picked image was picked up, and information about an inclination at which the vehicle was when the image was picked up for a purpose of provision to the image server according to  claim 8 .    
   
   
       13 . An in-vehicle image acquisition device comprising: 
 an image pickup means that picks up an image of surroundings of a vehicle;    a present point identifying means that identifies a present point of the vehicle;    an intersection determining means that determines whether the vehicle is in an intersection; and    a storing medium for storing a picked image picked up by the image pickup means, information about a present point at which the vehicle was when the picked image was picked up, and information indicating whether the vehicle was in an intersection when the image was picked up for a purpose of provision to the image server according to  claim 9 .    
   
   
       14 . An in-vehicle image acquisition device comprising: 
 an image pickup means that picks up an image of surroundings of a vehicle;    a present point identifying means that identifies a present point of the vehicle;    a running speed identifying means that identifies a running speed of the vehicle; and    a storing medium for storing a picked image picked up by the image pickup means and information about a present point at which the vehicle was when the picked image was picked up for a purpose of provision to the image server according to  claim 1 , wherein:    the image pickup means determines a time interval at which the images are repeatedly picked up based on the running speed of the vehicle.    
   
   
       15 . An in-vehicle image acquisition device comprising: 
 an image pickup means that picks up an image of surroundings of a vehicle;    a present point identifying means that identifies a present point of the vehicle; and    a storing medium for storing a picked image picked up by the image pickup means and information about a present point at which the vehicle was when the picked image was picked up for a purpose of provision to the image server according to  claim 1  or  3 , wherein:    the image pickup means picks up the image of a key point, specified beforehand, in more detail than usual.    
   
   
       16 . An image server comprising: 
 a storing medium for storing a picked image of surroundings of a vehicle, picked up with a camera mounted on the vehicle, and an image pickup information of the picked image; and    a delivering means that stores the inputted picked image and image pickup information of the picked image on the storing medium, and delivers a picked image stored on the storing medium to an image display terminal, wherein:    the image pickup information includes information about the image pickup point identified by a GPS sensor mounted on a vehicle that picked up the picked image, and    the delivering means corrects information about the image pickup point when the information about the image pickup point indicates that the image pickup point is considered not to have been properly identified by the GPS sensor.    
   
   
       17 . The image server according to  claim 16 , wherein: 
 map matching is used to carry out the correction.    
   
   
       18 . An image display terminal comprising: 
 a receiving means that receives a picked image and image pickup information delivered from an image server that delivers the picked image of surroundings of a vehicle, picked up with a camera mounted on the vehicle, and the image pickup information of the picked image; and    a display controlling means that causes a displaying means to display the received picked image, wherein:    the image pickup information includes information about an image pickup point at which the picked image was picked up, and    upon receiving an instruction to advance an image in a certain direction, the display controlling means searches for picked images picked up in a search region that is within a predetermined direction range including the certain direction and in which a distance from a point at which the picked image presently displayed on the displaying means was picked up is within a predetermined range, and selects the picked image to be displayed next on the displaying means from among found picked images in accordance with a predetermined selection rule.    
   
   
       19 . The image display terminal according to  claim 18 , wherein: 
 the selection rule is such that the picked image whose image pickup time is latest in the search region should be preferentially selected.    
   
   
       20 . The image display terminal according to  claim 18 , wherein: 
 the selection rule is such that the picked image picked up when a running speed of the vehicle is lowest in the search region should be preferentially selected.    
   
   
       21 . The image display terminal according to  claim 18 , wherein: 
 the image pickup information includes information about an image pickup time at which the picked image was picked up, and    the selection condition is such that the picked image whose image pickup time is closest to an image pickup time of the picked image presently displayed on the displaying means in the segment should be preferentially selected.    
   
   
       22 . The image display terminal according to  claim 18 , wherein: 
 when a result of the search reveals that no picked image exists which was picked up in the search region, the display controlling means causes the displaying means to display an indication that traveling is impossible.    
   
   
       23 . The image display terminal according to  claim 18 , wherein: 
 with respect to each of a plurality of directions, the display controlling means searches for picked images picked up in a search region that is within a direction range including a given direction and in which a distance from a point at which the picked image to be displayed on the displaying means was picked up is within a predetermined range, and, when a result of the search reveals that a picked image exists which was picked up in the search region, causes the displaying means to display an indication that traveling in the given direction is possible, together with the picked image to be displayed.    
   
   
       24 . The image display terminal according to  claim 18 , wherein: 
 the certain direction refers to a direction of forward travel and the image pickup information includes information about a direction in which the vehicle was running when the picked image was picked up, and    based on relation between a direction in which the vehicle was running when the selected picked image to be displayed next on the displaying means was picked up and a direction of the present forward travel, the display controlling means causes the picked image to be displayed with a running direction or a direction opposite thereto taken as a direction of a next forward travel.    
   
   
       25 . An image display terminal comprising: 
 a receiving means that receives a picked image and image pickup information delivered from an image server that delivers the picked image of surroundings of a vehicle, picked up with a camera mounted on the vehicle, and the image pickup information of the picked image; and    a display controlling means that causes a displaying means to display the received picked image, wherein:    the image pickup information includes information about an inclination at which the vehicle was when the picked image was picked up, and    based on the information about inclination, the display controlling means corrects the picked image so as to lessen an inclination of buildings in the picked image due to the inclination, and causes the displaying means to display the picked image corrected.    
   
   
       26 . The image display terminal according to  claim 25 , wherein: 
 the displaying means narrows a scope of display of the corrected picked image so as to reduce loss of image information in the displayed corrected picked image.