Vehicle event recorders with integrated web server
Vehicle event recorders are arranged with integrated web servers to provide a simple user interface and control mechanism which may be address with commonly available hardware and software. A vehicle event recorder of these inventions couples to a network having a workstation node. The workstation having either of the many available web browsers can be used to view, address, control, perform data transfer, et cetera, by way of data exchange in accordance with simple IP protocols. A vehicle equipped with these systems returns to a household to make a network connection. A local server is used to see all exposed system controls as provided by predefined web pages provided by a web server integrated as part of the vehicle event recorder unit.
1. A vehicle event recorder comprising:
a video camera configured to acquire visual information representing a vehicle environment, the vehicle environment including spaces in and around an interior and an exterior of the vehicle, the video camera configured to acquire the visual information based on one or more camera control settings;
a memory configured to electronically store information;
a microprocessor configured to effectuate storage of the visual information in the memory; and
a web server module configured to:
facilitate wireless communication of the visual information to a remotely located computing device associated with a user, wherein communicating the information includes generating one or more web pages that present the visual information for browsing by the user via a web browser of the computing device; and
adjust the camera control settings based on control information received from the user via the remotely located computing device, the web server module configured such that the one or more web pages are configured to receive entry and/or selection of the control information from the user.
2. The vehicle event recorder of claim 1 , wherein the video camera is configured such that the camera control settings include one or more of a zoom level, camera brightness, camera contrast, camera intensity, camera resolution, camera frame rate, or camera image color.
3. The vehicle event recorder of claim 1 , wherein said web pages are further characterized as ASP.NET type active server pages.
4. The vehicle event recorder of claim 1 ,
wherein the memory comprises a managed loop memory configured to store the visual information for a temporary period of time, and
wherein the web server module is configured to adjust the temporary period of time based on timing information received from the user via the remotely located computing device, the web server module configured such that the one or more web pages are configured to receive entry and/or selection of the timing information from the user.
5. The vehicle event recorder of claim 1 , further comprising an event trigger configured to detect an event, the event including one or more of an impact, rapid acceleration, rapid deceleration, a swerve, or hard braking, and cause a data transfer from the managed loop memory to a buffer memory, the event detected responsive to an event parameter breaching an event trigger threshold level, wherein the web server module is configured to adjust the event trigger threshold level based on threshold information received from the user via the remotely located computing device, the web server module configured such that the one or more web pages are configured to receive entry and/or selection of threshold information from the user.
6. The vehicle event recorder of claim 1 , wherein the web server module further comprises prearranged web services comprising programming modules which may be invoked via a TCP/IP call from a web browser.
7. The vehicle event recorder of claim 1 , further comprising a file transfer protocol server.
8. The vehicle event recorder of claim 1 , further comprising a simple mail transfer protocol server.
9. The vehicle event recorder of claim 1 , further comprising a communications transceiver characterized as a WiFi or WiMax compliant transceiver, and wherein the web server module communicates with the remotely located computing device via the communications transceiver.
10. The vehicle event recorder of claim 9 , wherein the communications transceiver is a wireless transceiver.
11. The vehicle event recorder of claim 1 , further comprising:
a data transmission network;
the remotely located computing device; and
the web browser;
wherein the data transmission network supports packet traffic via TCP/IP, and wherein the web browser is embodied as software running on the remotely located computing device.
12. The vehicle event recorders of claim 11 , wherein the data transmission network includes a portion characterized as a local area network LAN and/or a home type network.
13. The vehicle event recorder of claim 12 , wherein the data transmission network further comprises at least one router operable for directing data traffic in accordance with Internet protocol.
14. The vehicle event recorder of claim 13 , wherein the router is a WiFi and/or WiMax router and a vehicle event recorder communications transceiver is a complementary WiFi and/or WiMax transceiver.
15. The vehicle event recorder of claim 12 , wherein the data transmission network is a compound network comprising a wired portion and a wireless portion.
16. The vehicle event recorders of claim 15 , wherein the data transmission network further comprises a protocol gateway interface between a TCP/IP network and a mobile cellular communications network.