Method for assisting parking of a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for assisting the parking of a motor vehicle (1) and a motor vehicle for carrying out the method. The method comprises providing (S1) at least one parking area information (20) describing an unoccupied parking area (18) in the environment (14) of the motor vehicle and detecting (S2) at least one parking sign information (21) describing a sign that the motor vehicle is parked in the unoccupied parking area (18). The parking sign information comprises steering input information (22) describing a steering input of a driver (13) of the motor vehicle (1). By applying a situation-dependent weighting criterion (51) to the parking sign information, a parking intention probability value (50) is determined (S3) taking into account the parking area information. If the determined parking intention probability value is greater (S4) than a probability limit value (52), a driver assistance system (6) is automatically activated or activation is suggested (S5) for assisting the parking of the motor vehicle in the unoccupied parking area (18).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for assisting the parking of a motor vehicle and also to a motor vehicle for carrying out such a method. Background Art

[0002] Motor vehicles usually have a driver assistance system, which is designed to at least assist the driver of the motor vehicle when parking the motor vehicle. Such a driver assistance system can be designed, for example, as a parking assistance device or an intelligent parking assistant. However, such a driver assistance system usually has to be activated manually by the user of the motor vehicle. Therefore, an operating element is usually provided in the motor vehicle, and when the user, that is, usually the driver of the motor vehicle, operates the operating element, the activation of the corresponding driver assistance system that assists in parking is achieved.

[0003] DE 10 2013 216 455 A1 shows a parking assistance device for a vehicle, in which a parking intention is determined based on vehicle state information and environmental information. In addition, the direction of the vehicle and the position of a selector lever in the vehicle are analyzed in order to adjust the parking mode of the vehicle. Automatic parking is then assisted based on the adjusted parking mode.

[0004] DE 10 2012 221 036 A1 shows a method for automatically activating a parking assistance system in a motor vehicle. Here, the driver's observation behavior is determined in order to determine the probability of a parking intention based on the determined observation behavior and to automatically activate the driver assistance system if the probability is high enough. Summary of the invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a solution that can reliably recognize the parking intention of the driver of a motor vehicle.

[0006] The technical problem is solved according to the invention by a method for assisting the parking of a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle designed to carry out the method. The method for assisting the parking of a motor vehicle according to the invention comprises the following steps: providing at least one parking area information, which describes an unoccupied parking area in the environment of the motor vehicle; detecting at least one parking sign information, which describes a parking sign of the motor vehicle in the unoccupied parking area, wherein the at least one parking sign information has steering input information, which describes a steering input of a driver of the motor vehicle; by applying a situation-dependent weighting criterion to the at least one parking sign information, determining a parking intention probability value, which describes the probability of the driver of the motor vehicle intending to park in the unoccupied parking area, taking into account the at least one detected parking area information; and automatically activating or suggesting the activation of a driver assistance system to assist the parking of the motor vehicle in the unoccupied parking area if the determined parking intention probability value is greater than a probability limit value. The motor vehicle according to the invention is designed to carry out the method according to the invention.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention relates to a method according to the present invention, which is designed to assist in parking a motor vehicle. The method is therefore a parking assistance method for a motor vehicle.

[0008] The invention is based on the knowledge that a large number of input variables that can be detected in a motor vehicle can be used as indicators of a parking intention for a motor vehicle driver. However, the driver's actual parking intention can usually only be reliably determined by taking into account the current situation in which the input variables are detected and preferably by the interaction of a plurality of different input variables. Among the large number of input variables, the steering input of the motor vehicle driver is particularly convincing, because driving maneuvers that are characteristic of the parking intention can be identified based on this steering input. For this reason, a method for assisting the parking of a motor vehicle should be based on at least one information that describes one of the input variables and is referred to below as parking sign information, and starting from this parking sign information, a parking intention probability value for the current situation is determined and determined.

[0009] The method according to the invention comprises the following steps: providing at least one parking area information, which describes an unoccupied parking area in the environment (or surroundings) of the motor vehicle. In this context, a parking area is understood to be a space of a predetermined size ( The dimensions of the site are designed in such a way that a motor vehicle can be parked on the site, i.e. the parking area. The dimensions of the site are designed in particular so that a trailer consisting of a motor vehicle and a trailer and / or a bus can also be parked on the parking area and thus, for example, parked there. The unoccupied parking area is preferably a parking lot that is currently free, a parking position that is currently free, a parking space that is currently free and / or a roadside parking space that is currently free. The unoccupied parking area can be assigned to a public or private traffic area.

[0010] The parking area information preferably includes a position description of an unoccupied parking area, for example in the form of coordinates describing the parking area. The environment of a motor vehicle is an area around the motor vehicle, wherein the area extends around the motor vehicle with a preset radius. The environment of the motor vehicle preferably corresponds at least to the detection range of an environment detection device of the motor vehicle. Unoccupied parking areas in the environment are preferably detected by means of an environment detection device of the motor vehicle. The environment detection device is designed, for example, as a camera, a radar sensor, a laser radar (Light detection and ranging) device and / or an infrared sensor. By providing at least one parking area information, the motor vehicle has data describing at least one free space, in which the motor vehicle can in principle be parked.

[0011] Another method step provides for detecting at least one parking sign information. The parking sign information describes signs that the motor vehicle is parked in an unoccupied parking area. The parking sign information is a sign that the motor vehicle should be parked in an unoccupied parking area. Therefore, the motor vehicle is not yet in the unoccupied parking area at the current time point, but is, for example, on a driving surface adjacent to the unoccupied parking area, such as a road adjacent to the parking area, from which it may be possible to park in the unoccupied parking area. At least one parking sign information has at least one steering input information, which describes the steering input of the driver of the motor vehicle. The steering input of the driver is understood as its interference with the lateral guidance (or lateral control) of the motor vehicle. This steering input can be detected, for example, by means of a sensor device of the motor vehicle, and the sensor device is, for example, a position sensor for determining the steering angle of the steering device of the motor vehicle. In one example, the steering input information can, for example, describe the steering input of the driver over a period of time, so that the driving trajectory (Fahrtrajektorie) of the motor vehicle is detected (or collected) and provided. If this is the case, it can be inferred, for example, from the shape of the driving trajectory that the motor vehicle intends to park in an unoccupied parking area, because, for example, this trajectory and thus the steering input information present are characteristic for the parking process. This method is based on the knowledge that there is at least one typical driving behavior that can be described by at least one characteristic driving trajectory, wherein at least some drivers display this at least one typical driving behavior when they park in an unoccupied parking area.

[0012] It is possible to first provide parking area information and then detect at least one parking sign information. As an alternative to this, it is possible to first detect at least one parking sign information and then provide at least one parking area information. The latter is always performed, for example, in the case where an unoccupied parking area is outside the detection range, i.e., for example, the range of action, of a surroundings detection device of the motor vehicle, so that, for example, the parking sign information is first detected by, for example, identifying that the driving trajectory matches at least one representative driving trajectory, and only then is the unoccupied parking area detected and therefore provided in the form of parking area information.

[0013] In a further method step, a parking intention probability value is determined, which describes the probability that the driver of the motor vehicle intends to park in an unoccupied parking area. The parking intention probability value is determined by applying a situation-dependent weighting criterion to at least one parking sign information item, taking into account at least one detected parking area information item. The situation-dependent weighting criterion comprises at least one criterion, according to which at least one parking sign information item can be weighted such that the probability of the parking intention of the driver of the motor vehicle can ultimately be numerically indicated (or quantified). The parking intention probability value is, for example, between 0 and 1, wherein 0 indicates a non-existent and therefore unrecognized parking intention probability, and a parking intention probability value of 1 can, for example, describe a parking intention of the motor vehicle that is unquestionably recognized.

[0014] Since the weighting criteria are situation-dependent, for example, different requirements can be placed on the weighting of the individual parking sign information when the motor vehicle is on a busy road than in the following situation, in which the motor vehicle is, for example, on a single-lane road in a residential area with less traffic. This method is based on the recognition that a driver who wants to park on a busy road usually behaves differently from when he wants to park in a residential area with less traffic, for example. The reason for this may be that on a busy road, for example, there is less space available for unloading and / or moving to a garage and / or subjectively there is less time available for the parking process and the driver will therefore drive along a different driving trajectory for parking, which usually does not correspond to at least one representative driving trajectory. For example, as long as he is on a busy road, he is more likely to park forward in the case of longitudinal parking, for example, and for example, abandon the backward multiple times (mehrzügig, or in multiple processes) into a parking space arranged as an unoccupied parking area, for example, perpendicular to the road course of the road. In contrast, for example, in residential areas where traffic is more sparse, it is entirely possible that the driver parks the car laterally backwards. These two different parking directions can already anticipate different steering inputs from the driver and therefore, for example, different and possibly representative driving trajectories. Therefore, the evaluation of at least one parking sign information is performed in a situation-dependent manner. If only a single parking sign information is detected, this single parking sign information is still weighted because the parking intention probability value assigned to the single parking sign information is related to the current situation. The situation-dependent weighting criterion can alternatively be referred to as a situation-dependent analysis criterion. This is because the situation-dependent weighting criterion enables the analysis of at least one parking sign information and, through the analysis, the parking intention probability value is determined according to a criterion with a weighting criterion.

[0015] In order to estimate the parking intention probability of the motor vehicle driver and thus ultimately estimate the parking intention probability of the motor vehicle, at least one detected parking area information is taken into account when applying a weighted criterion related to the situation. This means that the parking sign information is analyzed under comprehensive consideration of the parking area information, that is, weighted in a situation-related manner. This means that it is not enough to identify the parking sign of the motor vehicle only based on at least one parking sign information. On the contrary, an unoccupied parking area, i.e., a parking space that is free at the current time point, in which the motor vehicle may want to park, i.e., the driver wants to park the motor vehicle. A driving trajectory that is normally only used for parking and is therefore a stronger sign for parking is still not enough to determine the parking intention probability value, for example, when the steering input information describing this driving trajectory is used as parking sign information. Instead, an unoccupied parking area must be actually identified in the environment, preferably such an unoccupied parking area that is on the predicted driving trajectory determined according to the detected driving trajectory and can therefore be reached in further driving along the detected driving trajectory.

[0016] Preferably, a plurality of parking sign information items are always linked to one another and merged with one another by means of situation-dependent different weights stored in situation-dependent weighting criteria, i.e., by applying weighting criteria, in order to be able to determine a reliable parking intention probability value. In other words, a parking intention probability value is preferably determined only when there is a sufficient number of different indicators, i.e., signs of a parking intention for the motor vehicle (and therefore ultimately of the motor vehicle driver).

[0017] If the determined parking intention probability value is greater than the probability limit value, then the activation of a driver assistance system is automatically activated or suggested (or provided as an option) to assist the parking of the motor vehicle in an unoccupied parking space. Only if the determined parking intention probability value actually has a value that indicates the presence of a parking intention of the motor vehicle can a real parking intention of the motor vehicle driver be inferred and, for example, a corresponding driver assistance system, such as a parking assistant or an intelligent parking assistant, be automatically activated so that the driver assistance system can assist the driver when parking in an unoccupied parking space. The probability limit value is preferably fixedly predetermined and stored in the motor vehicle and has a value between 0 and 1.

[0018] Alternatively, it is provided that, first, for example, a message is displayed visually on a display device inside the motor vehicle, for example, on a screen in the motor vehicle, which message suggests manual activation of at least one driver assistance system for assisting the parking of the motor vehicle. If a plurality of driver assistance systems for assisting the parking of the motor vehicle are provided in the motor vehicle, a choice between the plurality of driver assistance systems can be provided. An operating device is also provided in the motor vehicle, and manual activation is performed when the operating device is operated. For this purpose, an operating surface can be provided on a touch-sensitive screen in the motor vehicle and / or a key, a rotary push switch and / or a button can be provided in the motor vehicle, and when they are operated or operated accordingly, the driver can manually activate the driver assistance system. Therefore, in this case, the corresponding driver assistance system will not be automatically activated, but only a suggestion is displayed to the driver, and the suggestion includes that the driver assistance system can or should be activated. As an alternative or supplement to this, the activation suggestion can be output acoustically by a speaker device in the motor vehicle. The manual activation of the driver assistance system can be performed by a corresponding voice input, which is detected by a microphone device in the motor vehicle. As an alternative or in addition to this, the suggestion to activate the driver assistance system and / or the subsequent manual activation can be implemented with the aid of a mobile terminal located inside the motor vehicle, wherein the mobile terminal is coupled to the motor vehicle for this purpose to transmit data, for example activation data for the selected driver assistance system.

[0019] Preferably, the parking intention probability value is determined by means of an analysis device in the motor vehicle and / or a check is made as to whether the determined parking intention probability value is greater than a probability limit value. Automatic activation of the driver assistance system can be achieved, for example, by a control device in the motor vehicle, wherein the control device is designed to influence the longitudinal and / or transverse guidance of the motor vehicle and thus ultimately generate and / or implement at least one control signal for the driver assistance system.

[0020] If, for example, it is determined from the driver's steering input that he has performed a swing-out driving maneuver in the surrounding area of ​​an unoccupied parking area, which swing-out driving maneuver implies parking forward in a parking area oriented perpendicular to the road course, i.e., a so-called transverse parking space on the side of the road, and for example has parking area information indicating that the unoccupied parking area is located in a row of parking areas arranged parallel to one another, which, for example, implies a greater accumulation of the individual parking areas, then the parking intention probability value determined based on this one parking sign information may already be greater than the probability limit value taking into account the parking area information, so that, for example, an automatic activation of an assisting driver assistance system can be automatically carried out. In this example, as further parking sign information, for example, the driving speed of the motor vehicle and / or the setting of the turn signal (blinker) indicating a desire to travel in the direction of the unoccupied parking area can be taken into account and also weighted accordingly. Here, for example, it can be provided that a slower driving speed is more likely to be assigned to a weaker parking intention, because the corresponding speed is known, for example, within the range of typical driving speeds in the environment of unoccupied parking areas, for example, if the motor vehicle generally complies with the speed limit corresponding to the current speed in the environment of unoccupied parking areas. However, if the motor vehicle, for example, significantly reduces its speed when driving on a road compared to the typical driving speed on the road, the observed reduced driving speed can be weighted as a stronger parking intention sign. Here, the situation-related weighting criteria are based on corresponding information and criteria. This is ultimately feasible because the weighting criteria themselves are designed to be situation-related and the detected parking area information is also taken into account, that is, the known information about the unoccupied parking area is always taken into account when determining the parking intention probability value. If, according to the parking area information, the motor vehicle is located in a parking lot with multiple parking areas, the flashing of the motor vehicle or the turning on of the turn signal can be evaluated as a stronger parking sign. However, in contrast, if the motor vehicle is, for example, near a crossroad and / or a fork in the road, the flashing of the motor vehicle can be evaluated as a weaker parking sign. Because the activation of the turn signal may thus indicate that the driver wants to turn. In addition, if the turn signal is not activated, it cannot be assumed that there is no parking intention depending on the situation. For example, when driving on a road with relatively few traffic events, such as a residential area, it is often the case that the driver of the motor vehicle wants to drive into a parking area arranged to the side of him, but he does not turn on the turn signal. Therefore, the actual weight of a specific parking sign information can always be weighted accordingly depending on the situation. This means that the same parking sign information has different effects on the ultimately determined parking intention probability in different situations and is therefore evaluated as parking signs of different intensities of the motor vehicle in an unoccupied parking area.

[0021] The determination of the situation in which the motor vehicle is at the current point in time can be included in the parking area information and can therefore be known from the parking area information. As an alternative or in addition to this, the situation can be determined from the following information, which is stored in the navigation system of the motor vehicle and / or transmitted to the motor vehicle via a communication connection from an external server device and / or other traffic participants and / or infrastructure devices. Here, the inherent position and / or current orientation of the motor vehicle can be taken into account, which is determined by means of corresponding sensor devices of the motor vehicle. As an alternative or in addition, for determining the situation, map data of the motor vehicle environment and / or unoccupied parking areas stored in the navigation system and / or provided via a communication connection are taken into account. The motor vehicle is preferably positioned on a map contained in the map data. As an alternative or in addition to this, the environmental data detected by the environmental detection device of the motor vehicle can be analyzed in this way so as to provide information about current traffic events in the environment, which information, for example, describes the behavior of at least one other vehicle (or vehicle), bicycle, pedestrian and / or infrastructure device, such as traffic lights. As an alternative or in addition to this, current weather information can be detected and / or provided. All of this information can contribute to defining the current situation of the motor vehicle and influence the situation-dependent weighting of the at least one parking sign information item, which is achieved by applying a situation-dependent weighting criterion.

[0022] In general, it is achieved that the parking intention probability of the motor vehicle driver can be estimated particularly reliably, so that the driver assistance system that assists in parking is always automatically activated or at least suggested only when the driver actually desires and / or wants to park. The method described here is particularly reliable because the steering input information is considered as parking sign information, wherein the parking sign information is a particularly reliable parking sign of the motor vehicle. Therefore, the parking intention of the motor vehicle driver can be reliably detected.

[0023] Information according to the invention is understood to mean, for example, data and / or values ​​which ultimately have corresponding details, for example relating to parking areas, parking signs and / or steering inputs.

[0024] The present invention also includes embodiments that may produce other additional advantages.

[0025] The first embodiment provides for determining parking direction information. The parking direction information describes the parking direction of the motor vehicle in the unoccupied parking area. The parking direction information therefore has data describing whether the motor vehicle is parked in the unoccupied parking area forward or backward. In addition, the parking direction information can be used to distinguish whether it is a parking area arranged longitudinally relative to the current driving direction of the motor vehicle or a parking area arranged, for example, transversely or at least obliquely to the current driving direction of the motor vehicle. The parking area arranged longitudinally extends substantially parallel to the road course of the road adjacent to the parking area. If the angle between the longitudinal direction of the parking area and the road course is at most ten degrees, the parking area arranged longitudinally extends substantially in parallel. In the case of a larger angle of greater than 10 degrees up to 90 degrees, it can be considered to be a transversely arranged parking area. As parking directions, the following directions can be distinguished, for example: longitudinally forward, transversely forward, longitudinally backward and / or transversely backward.

[0026] The parking direction information can be determined by analyzing at least one parking sign information and / or at least one parking area information. In particular, the type of unoccupied parking area, i.e., whether it is a longitudinally or transversely oriented parking area, can usually be determined from the at least one parking area information. For example, the degree to which the motor vehicle is parked forwards or backwards can be determined from the parking sign information in the form of steering input information, since the steering input of the motor vehicle driver is designed differently depending on whether he wants to park forwards or backwards in the parking area.

[0027] The parking direction information is taken into account when applying the situation-dependent weighting criteria. It can be provided that, for example, a driving trajectory together with parking direction information indicating transverse rearward parking is evaluated as a stronger sign of a parking intention than, for example, parking direction information indicating transverse forward parking. The reason for this can be, for example, that when parking backward, the driver's steering input, i.e., the driving trajectory, for example, usually deviates significantly more strongly from the driving trajectory selected when the motor vehicle is driving in a straight line and is therefore easier to distinguish from the driving trajectory of the straight line than, for example, when parking forward. Therefore, the situation-dependent weighting criteria take into account the parking direction information in order to be able to reliably determine the parking intention probability value. The method is therefore particularly convincing in terms of weighting the parking signs of the motor vehicle.

[0028] In another embodiment, it is provided that the at least one parking area information is determined by means of an environment detection device of the motor vehicle and / or is transmitted to the motor vehicle by an external device. The parking area information can therefore be detected and analyzed by a device of the motor vehicle itself, that is, for example, an environment detection device designed as a camera. For this purpose, for example, an analysis device can be provided in the motor vehicle, which is designed to analyze information about unoccupied parking areas by applying digital image processing to environmental data detected by the environment detection device, and provide this information in the form of at least one parking area information. As an alternative or supplement to this, at least one parking area information can be provided to the motor vehicle by a device arranged outside the motor vehicle. For this purpose, for example, a communication connection can be established and / or maintained between the external device and the motor vehicle, and the parking area information is transmitted to the motor vehicle via the communication connection. The external device can be, for example, another vehicle in the environment of the motor vehicle and / or an infrastructure device in the environment of the motor vehicle and / or an external computing device, in which, for example, information about parking areas and / or even information about unoccupied parking areas in the environment is stored, if necessary. The corresponding information can be transmitted, for example, via a vehicle-to-vehicle and / or vehicle-to-infrastructure communication connection. The external device can transmit raw data and / or at least one parking area information that has been analyzed to the motor vehicle. The transmitted raw data can be evaluated by an evaluation device, for example similarly to the environmental data.

[0029] A particularly preferred embodiment is characterized in that the steering input information describes the steering movement of the motor vehicle, in particular the driving trajectory. If the unoccupied parking area is located, for example, on the right side of the motor vehicle in the driving direction and is designed for transverse parking, the motor vehicle driver usually performs a left turn or a wheel turn during parking in the unoccupied parking area, so as to have a better starting position for the subsequent backward driving, which is used for parking in the unoccupied parking area in a transversely backward direction. Therefore, the driver usually performs a kind of swinging out in the direction of the left in the driving direction, thereby realizing a swinging movement of the motor vehicle, which can be clearly identified and reflected in the driving trajectory and can be obtained from this driving trajectory. The swinging out movement in the direction opposite to the arrangement of the unoccupied parking area relative to the current driving direction of the motor vehicle is a parking sign of the motor vehicle in the unoccupied parking area, because it is a sign of the upcoming parking maneuver, i.e. the parking process. The swinging out movement can be reliably identified with less effort when analyzing the driving trajectory, so that the parking sign of the motor vehicle can be clearly obtained from the steering movement of the motor vehicle.

[0030] However, many drivers with the same parking intention, i.e., drivers who also want to park laterally in an unoccupied parking space, for example, do not display such a swinging motion, for example, because they want to carry out a multiple parking maneuver and therefore will not carry out the prominent swinging motion that is to be expected in a single parking maneuver. It must therefore be taken into account that, depending on the driver's driving behavior (or driving characteristics), the described prominent driving trajectory may or may not be observed.

[0031] Single parking is understood to mean parking in one (or one process), i.e. without stopping temporarily, possibly changing the steering angle while stationary, then continuing in a different, preferably opposite direction, stopping again, possibly changing the steering angle again, and only then actually driving into the parking area to park the motor vehicle. In the case of multiple parking, however, the aforementioned multiple steps are carried out during parking, possibly even multiple times, so that multiple driving processes that can be distinguished from each other are carried out between the start and end of parking.

[0032] As an alternative or supplement, forward parking in a transverse parking area, for example, arranged on the right side of the current driving direction of the motor vehicle, can be associated with a driving trajectory that is characteristic and therefore typical for this. The corresponding typical driving trajectory has an S-curve shape. Compared with the curve direction that is usually expected to be similar to the letter S, the S-curve shape may be relatively weakly highlighted. When parking in a parking area, the S-curve shape can be followed (abfahren) and the S-curve shape may be recognized early and evaluated as a sign of the driver's parking desire, and thus form a stronger parking sign of the motor vehicle as parking sign information. The characteristic of the S-curve shape is that the motor vehicle first deflects to the left in the opposite direction of the parking area, that is, in the driving direction, in order to be thrown out, and then abruptly drives to the parking area, that is, turns to the right and abruptly parks in the transverse parking area. However, it is possible that, for example, when parking multiple vehicles in a transverse parking area arranged on the right relative to the direction of travel, the driver does not follow the described prominent S-curve-shaped driving trajectory, but instead follows, for example, a relatively flat driving trajectory that runs essentially parallel to the road course and thus parks multiple vehicles in unoccupied parking areas without being thrown out. In this case, for example, no clearly recognizable signs of the vehicle parking are obtained from the steering movement of the vehicle and therefore only weak signs of the vehicle parking are obtained, so that after applying a situation-related weighting criterion to the parking sign information, for example, only a parking intention probability that is less than a probability limit value can be determined.

[0033] As an alternative or in addition thereto, parking area information may be estimated from the driving trajectory, since, for example, the position and / or orientation of the motor vehicle along the driving trajectory may lead to conclusions about the design of the unoccupied parking area.

[0034] Ultimately, the analysis of the steering movement can provide a situation-dependent indication of the parking intention of the motor vehicle, so that, based on a situation-dependent weighting criterion, a parking intention probability value greater than a probability limit value can be inferred from the steering input information alone. This allows the automatic activation or activation suggestion of a driver assistance system to be realized particularly quickly.

[0035] In an additional embodiment, the steering input information describes the steering wheel steering angle (Lenkeinschlagwinkel, or steering deflection angle) of the steering device of the motor vehicle. The steering input information describes in particular the steering wheel steering angle that the steering device has when the motor vehicle is stationary. The parking sign information can therefore include the steering wheel steering angle of the motor vehicle when it is stationary, after the motor vehicle has stopped, for example, in the environment of an unoccupied parking area. This is useful, for example, in the following situations, that is, neither a swinging movement or a swinging movement nor an S-curve-shaped driving trajectory is detected, and the driver only parks the motor vehicle in the vicinity of the unoccupied parking area in order to then adjust (or set) the desired steering wheel steering angle while stationary, so as to thereby drive into the unoccupied parking area in the next driving maneuver. This situation always occurs, for example, when the steering wheel steering angle corresponds to the arrangement of the unoccupied parking area relative to the orientation of the motor vehicle in terms of its arrangement relative to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. If, for example, a parking area provided for transverse parking between two already parked vehicles is located on the right rear side of the motor vehicle in the driving direction, then, for example, a steering wheel steering angle of the wheels of the front axle of the motor vehicle to the right in the driving direction relative to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle may indicate that the driver of the motor vehicle is about to drive backwards into the described unoccupied parking area. Thus, in particular when the motor vehicle is not moving and is therefore stationary, by analyzing the steering wheel steering angle, signs that the motor vehicle is about to park in an unoccupied parking area can also be identified, which can be taken into account when determining the parking intention probability in order to be able to reliably determine the parking intention probability.

[0036] Furthermore, one embodiment provides that the parking sign information has relative arrangement (or layout) information, which describes the current relative arrangement of the motor vehicle relative to the unoccupied parking area. The relative arrangement information can in particular describe the lateral distance and / or angle of the motor vehicle relative to the unoccupied parking area. The lateral distance of the motor vehicle relative to other vehicles already parked in a parking row, for example at the edge of the road on which the motor vehicle is traveling, can be a sign of a parking intention. In particular, in the case of, for example, driving close to an unoccupied parking area in combination with the already described ejection movement that can be obtained from the driving trajectory, it can be reliably inferred that the driver of the motor vehicle wants to drive to a starting position that is as favorable as possible, which has a small vehicle offset relative to the unoccupied parking area, so that it is particularly easy to park in the unoccupied parking area between the parked vehicles.

[0037] In this context, it is necessary to distinguish between forward and backward parking maneuvers, since, for example, in a parking maneuver carried out longitudinally backward, a smaller lateral distance is advantageous for parking a vehicle or at least for a smaller number of parking maneuvers, whereas, for example, in a parking maneuver carried out transversely forward, the described S-curve-shaped swinging motion and, in conjunction therewith, a possibly larger lateral distance of the motor vehicle from an unoccupied parking space are more likely to be advantageous for the parking maneuver. When taking into account the lateral distance as parking indication information, preferably the parking direction information is always taken into account in order to be able to determine the corresponding parking intention probability value particularly reliably.

[0038] The angle of the motor vehicle relative to the unoccupied parking area is preferably evaluated in conjunction with the parking direction information. For example, when the angle between the driving direction and therefore the vehicle longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle and the unoccupied parking area is substantially 90 degrees, it is generally concluded that there is no parking sign of the motor vehicle at all. However, if the angle is significantly greater than 90 degrees, i.e., for example, between greater than 90 degrees and 180 degrees, then a sign of parking in a parking area arranged on the right side in the driving direction can be identified. If the angle is less than 90 degrees and therefore between 0 and less than 90 degrees, then, for example, a sign of parking in a parking area arranged on the right side in the driving direction can be identified here. Therefore, the angle of the motor vehicle relative to the unoccupied parking area can be analyzed as a further parking sign of the motor vehicle in the unoccupied parking area, so that at least this angle can be taken into account when determining the parking intention probability value.

[0039] The angle of the motor vehicle relative to the unoccupied parking area can be determined, for example, from the driving trajectory in conjunction with the detected steering movement of the motor vehicle and thus, for example, included in the steering input information. Alternatively or additionally, the angle between the vehicle and the parking area can be determined by a corresponding sensor device of the motor vehicle independently of the evaluation of the driver's steering input and thus taken into account.

[0040] In addition, one embodiment provides that a reversing area is determined, in which, when a motor vehicle is parked in an unoccupied parking area starting from the current position and orientation of the motor vehicle, the motor vehicle will perform a change of driving direction in the reversing area with a probability greater than a minimum probability during the process of parking in the unoccupied parking area. Therefore, for the motor vehicle, a reversing point analysis is performed starting from its current position relative to the unoccupied parking area and its current orientation, and the result of the analysis can be used as a parking sign for the motor vehicle. In a specific reversing area, the motor vehicle must change its driving direction in order to be able to park in the unoccupied parking area. Therefore, the reversing area is a sub-area of ​​the predicted driving trajectory, along which it can be parked in the unoccupied parking area starting from the current position and orientation of the motor vehicle. In this case, at least one parking sign information describes whether the motor vehicle has actually moved into the determined reversing area at least with a reference point of the motor vehicle. Therefore, it is checked whether, for example, the center point of the rear axle of the motor vehicle moves or has moved into the determined reversing area, and the center point can be selected as a reference point here by way of example. As soon as this reference point on the rear axle of the motor vehicle has moved past the edge of the reversing area into the reversing area, a subsequent parking maneuver can be performed, for example, to park in an unoccupied parking area. It can therefore be assumed that the driver will first bring the motor vehicle into the reversing area in order to park in the unoccupied parking area starting from the reversing area. Entry into the reversing area is detected by observing the positional movement of the reference point of the motor vehicle, and by detecting the entry into the reversing area it can be detected that the motor vehicle has parked in an unoccupied parking area.

[0041] In this case, the parking direction information is preferably taken into account in order to reliably predict where the reversing area is arranged relative to the unoccupied parking area and relative to the current position and orientation of the motor vehicle. Ultimately, the reversing point analysis described here is based on known representative and therefore typical driving trajectories for different parking maneuvers in unoccupied parking areas that are arranged differently relative to the road course.

[0042] Furthermore, one embodiment provides that the position and orientation of the motor vehicle is determined on a map provided to the motor vehicle. In the motor vehicle, for example in a navigation system and / or a storage device of the motor vehicle, there are map data describing the current surroundings of the motor vehicle. Furthermore, the motor vehicle is designed to be able to determine its own current position and orientation, which is done, for example, by corresponding sensor devices of the motor vehicle. For determining the position, a global navigation satellite system GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) can be used, for example, to locate the motor vehicle. Thus, the position and orientation of the motor vehicle is ultimately determined, for example, on the road on which the motor vehicle is currently traveling, which road is in turn located in the provided map.

[0043] Maps usually contain information about the expected arrangement of the motor vehicle at the current position, since usually, for example on a road, a specific fixed predetermined driving direction and thus orientation of the motor vehicle is predetermined. If parking is not performed, the orientation of the motor vehicle should be essentially parallel to the road course and also correspond to the driving direction.

[0044] At least one parking sign information now has deviation information, which describes the deviation between the determined motor vehicle orientation and the typical motor vehicle orientation for the determined position. If, for example, the motor vehicle is not currently traveling roughly parallel to the road direction, this deviation can be regarded as a parking sign of the motor vehicle. Because this deviation implies that, for example, the motor vehicle is about to enter an unoccupied parking area arranged laterally or transversely to the road direction or has already traveled on the parking area. In this example, the motor vehicle does not have the orientation that should usually be present in the determined position, because the motor vehicle, for example, has traveled at an angle of 45° with respect to the typical orientation of the road direction or at least arranged in this way. For example, the driving of the motor vehicle roughly centered on the lane and oriented in the direction of the lane direction is understood as a typical behavior and therefore understood as a typical orientation. An angle greater than 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 or up to 90 degrees between the determined orientation and the typical orientation can be evaluated as a sign of parking on an unoccupied parking area. Finally, map-based parking sign information can be detected and considered.

[0045] An advantageous embodiment provides that at least one parking sign information includes turn signal status information, which describes the status of the turn signal of the motor vehicle. The activation of the turn signal of the motor vehicle is therefore analyzed. For example, if the turn signal is turned on, although, for example, the navigation data does not contain turns and / or intersections in the motor vehicle environment, this can be regarded as a parking sign that the motor vehicle is parked in an unoccupied parking area. The selection of the turn signal can be analyzed, that is, it can be considered whether the turn signal arranged in the motor vehicle on the left or right side in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle is activated. As a result, the arrangement of the unoccupied parking area relative to the driving direction of the motor vehicle can be determined, thereby determining the parking area information and the parking direction information and / or assisting their determination and / or verifying the determined corresponding information.

[0046] The current position of the motor vehicle can be taken into account by means of a situation-dependent weighting criterion, since, for example, in an environment defined as a parking environment, such as a parking garage, the turn signal of the motor vehicle is particularly reliably activated by the driver when parking, whereas in a less trafficked environment, such as a residential area with less traffic, for example, the driver may not activate the turn signal if he or she realizes that there are no other road users. Depending on the situation, the activation or inactivation of the turn signal is a weaker or stronger indication of the intention to park.

[0047] Furthermore, in one embodiment, it is provided that at least one parking sign information item has viewing direction information, which describes the viewing direction and / or viewing duration of the driver's viewing behavior. For this purpose, for example, measurement data of an interior camera of the motor vehicle can be used, which is designed to detect the driver's viewing direction and, if necessary, also to evaluate the viewing direction. Alternatively or additionally, the measurement data of the interior camera can be evaluated by an evaluation device. Thus, the driver's viewing direction is detected, for example, by means of a camera that observes the driver.

[0048] During the search for an unoccupied parking area, the driver usually moves his head relatively far to the left or right relative to the driving direction of the motor vehicle in a relatively short period of time. Here, the typical head movement that the driver usually performs during the driving to find a parking space can be identified. Therefore, in the combination of the viewing direction and the viewing duration, the parking sign of the motor vehicle can be identified, and this parking sign can be considered when determining the parking intention probability. Once the driver visually finds the unoccupied parking area, his viewing behavior usually stays on the unoccupied parking area for the viewing duration of the shortest duration. Therefore, in this viewing behavior along a specific viewing direction that lasts for the preset shortest viewing duration, the parking sign of the motor vehicle in the unoccupied parking area can also be identified. It is always important here that the determined viewing direction is also associated with the arrangement of the unoccupied parking area relative to the motor vehicle driver and therefore relative to the orientation of the motor vehicle. Therefore, when analyzing the viewing direction information as the parking sign information, the detected parking area information is finally considered. The viewing direction information can usually be regarded as a stronger parking sign of the motor vehicle parked in the parking area.

[0049] Furthermore, one embodiment provides that at least one parking sign information item has driving speed information, which describes the deviation of the current speed of the motor vehicle from a setpoint speed. For this purpose, the setpoint speed is determined in particular by means of a traffic sign recognition device, transmitted to the motor vehicle by other vehicles in the environment of the motor vehicle and / or detected by means of an environment detection device of the motor vehicle. This method is based on the idea that when looking for a parking space, the driver usually drives at a speed that is lower than the speed that is common for the current position and the road type on which the motor vehicle is currently traveling. Therefore, by comparing the detected current speed with the setpoint speed, it can be detected whether the driver has slowed down his motor vehicle, for example, because he is looking for a parking space, which is usually the case when looking for a parking area.

[0050] In order to detect the setpoint speed by the surroundings detection device of the motor vehicle, other road users in the surroundings of the motor vehicle are detected, for example, by radar sensors and / or cameras of the motor vehicle, and the data detected are analyzed in such a way that the speed of the corresponding other road users can be quantified. For this purpose, the motor vehicle has, for example, a corresponding speed analysis criterion in the evaluation device of the motor vehicle, which is applied to the data detected by the surroundings detection device of the motor vehicle.

[0051] The traffic sign recognition device can be based on data of an environment detection device of the motor vehicle, for example. The local maximum speed is detected and set as the setpoint speed. As an alternative or in addition, the setpoint speed can be stored in a map in the motor vehicle and is therefore already known to the motor vehicle. If other vehicles in the environment of the motor vehicle, for example, have a traffic sign recognition device and / or can determine the setpoint speed by means of their environment detection devices and / or from maps stored in other vehicles, this information can be transmitted to the motor vehicle, for example, by means of a communication connection between the other vehicle and the motor vehicle.

[0052] In addition, it is necessary to consider that near the unoccupied parking area identified by the driver, the motor vehicle is usually braked to a stationary state, and the current speed is thus reduced compared to the rated speed. If it is now also recognized, for example, by means of the environment detection device of the motor vehicle, that the vehicle driving in front continues to drive without braking and / or does not recognize the red or switched traffic lights at the intersection and / or the environment, it can be inferred that a stronger sign of motor vehicle parking can be identified in the speed reduction and therefore in the deviation of the current speed from the rated speed. For example, it can be ruled out that the current traffic conditions cause or trigger the deviation of the current speed from the rated speed. This allows the deviation of the speed to be evaluated as a sign of the parking intention of the motor vehicle driver. The driving speed detected by the sensor device of the motor vehicle and / or the operation of the accelerator pedal and / or brake pedal of the motor vehicle can be analyzed in this way so that the current speed is known.

[0053] Furthermore, one embodiment provides that at least one parking sign information has parking space evaluation information. The parking space evaluation information is determined taking into account the parking area information and has at least one of the following information about the unoccupied parking area: the size of the unoccupied parking area compared to the parking area space detected at a previous time (or before in time). The parking area space detected at a previous time is another unoccupied parking area detected at a previous time. This is possible, for example, if the parking space detected at the current time is larger than another parking space detected, for example, at a short time ago, so that it can be inferred that the driver is more likely to park in the first-mentioned unoccupied parking area with a larger space than in a parking area detected earlier in time that is smaller in comparison therewith, so that the probability of parking in a larger unoccupied parking area is greater than in another unoccupied parking area detected at a previous time but smaller. Thus, the size (or size) of the parking area can be a parking sign for the motor vehicle.

[0054] Further information about the unoccupied parking area may be the spatial proximity to the destination of the motor vehicle. If, for example, the identified unoccupied parking area is spatially close to the destination, such as a navigation destination of the navigation system of the motor vehicle and / or a home address stored in the motor vehicle, then in this respect, the indication of parking at this unoccupied parking area may also be seen.

[0055] Other information concerns the visibility of unoccupied parking areas The spatial extent of at least one detected object in the surroundings of the unoccupied parking area is taken into account, wherein the object is detected, for example, by a surroundings detection device of the motor vehicle. If, for example, the object has a lower height compared to the vehicle height of the motor vehicle, for example in the case of a lower structural boundary with respect to other vehicles or the parking area, it can be inferred that the unoccupied parking area is perceived as intuitive by the driver, which can be evaluated as a strong indication for parking, for example. However, if there are objects in the surroundings of the parking area that clearly exceed the motor vehicle, such as walls, plants such as trees, or buildings that are taller than the vehicle height, the parking area may not be perceived as intuitively by the driver. A lower intuitiveness may indicate a lower probability of parking.

[0056] Further information may be the spatial proximity to a parking area reserved for the motor vehicle. For example, it may be provided that the driver of the motor vehicle has reserved a predefined parking area via a corresponding application, such as an application designed for this purpose in the motor vehicle and / or on a mobile terminal device. If the currently unoccupied parking area is within the range of the reserved parking area or at least overlaps with it in space, it may be assumed that the driver intends to park in the reserved parking area.

[0057] Furthermore, an evaluation determined by taking into account at least one of the above-mentioned information can be performed as information. Thus, unoccupied parking areas can be rated, taking into account accessibility, size, proximity to the destination, intuitiveness and / or spatial proximity to a reserved parking area. Thus, it can be determined, for example, in the case of a plurality of unoccupied parking areas, whether one of the plurality of unoccupied parking areas stands out and can be evaluated as a particularly suitable parking area with a particularly high probability of a parking intention. Thus, in such an evaluation, the parking signs of the motor vehicle can be seen.

[0058] As an alternative or in addition to this, it can be provided that the characteristic driving behavior of the motor vehicle driver is detected and analyzed, so that, for example, typical parking movements for the driver can be identified and stored. For this purpose, the driver's driving behavior can be detected, stored and analyzed in a very short period of time. In comparison with the driver's current behavior, the characteristic driving behavior when parking can be evaluated early and reliably as a sign of parking of the motor vehicle by the same driver. Therefore, the comparison between the driver's characteristic driving behavior and the current driving behavior can present another meaningful parking sign information.

[0059] In one embodiment, it is provided that a plurality of unoccupied parking areas are detected and a parking intention probability value is determined for each unoccupied parking area of ​​the detected plurality of unoccupied parking areas. If a plurality of determined parking intention probability values ​​are greater than a probability limit value, the driver assistance system is automatically activated or suggested to be activated only for the unoccupied parking area with the determined maximum parking intention probability value. Therefore, a parking intention probability value can be assigned to each identified and in principle suitable parking area, which parking intention probability value indicates the probability that the driver will park there. Therefore, the described method can be applied not only to the scenario of identifying exactly one unoccupied parking area according to the parking area information, but also to the situation where the driver may choose between a plurality of unoccupied parking areas. By analyzing the steering input information, that is, by considering the information as parking sign information, it is already possible to infer which of the plurality of unoccupied parking areas the motor vehicle will park with what probability. One of the plurality of unoccupied parking areas will have the determined maximum parking intention probability value, so that in order to park in exactly this unoccupied parking area, for example, automatic activation can be performed. The method can thus be applied to various environments and situations.

[0060] In addition, one embodiment provides that the weighting criteria related to the situation take into account at least one of the following situation information: the traffic situation in the environment of the motor vehicle, the road type of the road where the motor vehicle is located, and / or the infrastructure affiliation of the environment of the motor vehicle, especially the affiliation with a parking lot or a parking building. By considering the traffic situation in the environment of the motor vehicle, for example, at least one other vehicle, pedestrian, object and / or cyclist whose behavior may affect the driver's behavior is considered. If, for example, there are multiple pedestrians in the environment of the motor vehicle, then compared with the situation where no pedestrians are detected in the environment of the motor vehicle, for example, the weighting of the driving speed information can be significantly reduced. This is because the reduced speed may also be attributed to the presence of a large number of pedestrians and therefore no conclusion can be drawn about the parking intention of the motor vehicle driver and / or only a weak conclusion is drawn. The traffic situation also includes whether there is traffic congestion or stagnant traffic in the environment of the motor vehicle, especially in the driving direction of the motor vehicle at the current time point. The traffic situation also includes the relative arrangement relative to the motor vehicle and, if necessary, the speed of at least one other vehicle, pedestrian, object and / or cyclist, especially the relative speed relative to the motor vehicle. The road type describes the type of road on which the motor vehicle is traveling, such as a highway, a country road, a plurality of lanes of a road and / or a play road.

[0061] Ultimately, a large number of traffic and situation combinations can be considered for each individual parking sign information. Ultimately, it is possible to precisely differentiate, using situation-dependent weighting criteria, which driving behavior of the motor vehicle driver can be considered as a parking sign for parking the motor vehicle in an unoccupied parking area and which can be weighted to what extent in which situation, taking into account the different individually described parking sign information. Ultimately, this enables precise and reliable automatic activation of driver assistance systems or recommendations for activation of driver assistance systems in a situation-dependent manner.

[0062] Another aspect of the invention relates to a motor vehicle according to the invention. The motor vehicle according to the invention is designed to carry out the above-described method. Therefore, the motor vehicle is designed to be provided with at least one parking area information, to detect at least one parking sign information, to determine a parking intention probability value, and to automatically activate a driver assistance system or to suggest activation of a driver assistance system in the case where the determined parking intention probability value is greater than a probability limit value, in order to assist the motor vehicle in parking in an unoccupied parking area. The preferred embodiments and their advantages proposed in connection with the method according to the invention are accordingly applicable to the motor vehicle according to the invention within the applicable scope. Finally, the motor vehicle is designed to carry out the corresponding method steps and therefore has the device-specific features required by the motor vehicle so that the method according to the invention can be carried out alone or in combination with the individually mentioned embodiments of the method according to the invention.

[0063] The motor vehicle according to the invention can be designed as a motor vehicle, in particular a passenger car or a truck, or as a bus or a motorcycle.

[0064] The present invention also includes an analysis device for a motor vehicle. The analysis device has a processor device, which is configured to execute an embodiment of the method according to the present invention. For this purpose, the processor device can have at least one microprocessor and / or at least one microcontroller and / or at least one FPGA (field programmable gate array) and / or at least one DSP (digital signal processor). In addition, the processor device can have a program code, which is configured to execute an embodiment of the method according to the present invention when executed by the processor device. The program code can be stored in a data memory of the processor device.

[0065] The specific information values ​​or numerical values ​​described should also be considered to be included within the scope of the present invention within the range of deviations caused by, for example, measurement errors, systematic errors, DIN tolerances, etc.

[0066] The invention comprises combinations of features of the described embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0067] Embodiments of the present invention are described below. To this end, in the accompanying drawings:

[0068] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a motor vehicle is shown in which a method for assisting in parking a motor vehicle may be performed;

[0069] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing different driving trajectories when a motor vehicle is parked;

[0070] Figure 3 A schematic diagram shows a signal diagram for a method for assisting parking of a motor vehicle; and

[0071] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of individual parking information items taken into account in the method steps of the method is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0072] The embodiments described below are preferred embodiments of the present invention. In the embodiments, the components described represent individual features of the present invention that can be considered independently of one another, and they also expand the present invention independently of one another and can therefore also be considered as components of the present invention individually or in other combinations different from the combinations shown. In addition, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by other features of the present invention that have already been described.

[0073] Elements with the same function are provided with the same reference symbols in the figures.

[0074] exist Figure 1 A motor vehicle 1 is depicted in FIG. The motor vehicle 1 has an environment detection device 2, such as a camera, a radar sensor, a lidar device and / or an infrared camera. As shown here, the motor vehicle 1 can have the environment detection device 2 in the front area of ​​the motor vehicle 1. As an alternative or in addition to this, the environment detection device 2 can be arranged in the rear area and / or in the corresponding side area of ​​the motor vehicle 1.

[0075] The motor vehicle 1 has a sensor device 3, which can detect, for example, the setting of a steering device 8 of the motor vehicle 1. In addition, the motor vehicle 1 has an analysis device 4, a control device 5 and a display device 7. The control device 5 is designed to influence or act on the longitudinal guidance and / or transverse guidance of the motor vehicle 1, and, for example, executes control signals of a driver assistance system 6 and drives or controls the motor vehicle 1 according to the control signals. The driver assistance system 6 is designed, for example, as a parking assistance device and / or an intelligent parking assistant. The display device 7 is designed, for example, as a touch-sensitive or non-touch-sensitive screen. At least one operating element (not shown here), such as a key, a button and / or a rotary push switch, can be provided to the display device 7, and when the operating element is operated, the options displayed on the display device 7 can be selected and activated. The display device 7 is preferably designed as a touch-sensitive screen, on which display elements can be displayed, which can be activated and selected by touching with the hand of the driver 13 of the motor vehicle 1.

[0076] The motor vehicle 1 has a communication interface 9. The motor vehicle 1 also has a navigation system 10 in which a map 11 is stored. The navigation system 10 can be designed to perform positioning of the motor vehicle 1, for example based on a global navigation satellite system GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), such as a global positioning system GPS. The motor vehicle 1 also has two turn signals 12 in the front and rear regions, respectively, by means of which it can be indicated that the motor vehicle 1 is about to change direction (or change direction) when the motor vehicle 1 is driving. There is also a driver 13 in the motor vehicle 1, who can manually control the steering device 8 of the motor vehicle 1, for example, by the driver operating the steering wheel of the motor vehicle 1 with his hands.

[0077] The vehicle longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle 1 is here represented as the x direction, while the vehicle transverse direction of the motor vehicle 1 is represented as the y direction. The vehicle height direction is represented as the z direction.

[0078] exist Figure 1 The environment 14 of the motor vehicle 1 is depicted, wherein the environment is, for example, a detection range of an environment detection device 2 of the motor vehicle 1. Figure 11 , an external device 15 is depicted, which can be designed as an external server device 16 and / or another vehicle 17. The external device 15 can exchange information with the motor vehicle 1 or at least transmit information to the motor vehicle 1. For this purpose, the server device 16 and / or the vehicle 17 can also each have a communication interface 9, so that data can be transmitted between the communication interface 9 of the motor vehicle 1 and the communication interface 9 of the corresponding external device 15. These data can be transmitted via a communication connection between the communication interfaces 9, wherein the communication connection is set as a wireless connection, for example via a wireless local area network (WLAN stands for Wireless Local Area Network), a Bluetooth connection and / or a mobile data network, for example a mobile data network based on a mobile radio standard such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) or the fifth generation (5G).

[0079] exist Figure 2 Two different parking scenarios are depicted in FIG. 1 . The driver 13 of the motor vehicle 1 is currently looking for an unoccupied parking area 18. In the first example, Figure 2 In the left area of ​​, a motor vehicle 1 is depicted, which is driven along a row of other parked vehicles 17, wherein the motor vehicle is parked backwards in an unoccupied parking area 18 located to the right of the motor vehicle 1 in the direction of travel. Two exemplary driving trajectories 19 are depicted for such parking, which the motor vehicle 1 can follow when parking. The driving trajectories 19 show a swinging motion, which can be referred to as a swinging motion. If the driver 13 of the motor vehicle 1 usually wants to park backwards in the unoccupied parking area 18 shown, his driving trajectory 19 usually has a prominent sharp point, to which the driver 13 swings the motor vehicle 1, so that he can then park directly backwards in the unoccupied parking area 18. However, as an alternative to this, he may want to drive into the unoccupied parking area 18 in several turns, wherein in this case he will follow a driving trajectory 19'. In this driving trajectory 19', motor vehicle 1 first drives past unoccupied parking space 18 further than in driving trajectory 19, without performing a swing-out movement, and drives backwards into unoccupied parking space 18 by possibly multiple maneuvers. In this example of rear parking, clear signs of parking of motor vehicle 1 in unoccupied parking space 18 can be particularly detected from driving trajectory 19, since the described swing-out or swing-out movement can be evaluated as representative of the parking intention of driver 13 of motor vehicle 1.

[0080] exist Figure 2. However, the motor vehicle 1 depicted here drives forward into an unoccupied parking area 18 between other already parked vehicles 17. Here, too, there are two different possible driving trajectories 19″ and 19″′. If the driver 13 follows the driving trajectory 19″, it is expected that the vehicle will be able to park forward into the unoccupied parking area 18 in one go. Typically, 5 to 10 meters in front of the unoccupied parking area 18, the driver 13 will perform a swing-out movement in the form of an S-curve with the motor vehicle 1, so that it is then usually possible to drive into the unoccupied parking area 18 at an angle of approximately 90 degrees relative to its starting position depicted here. As an alternative to this, however, according to the driving trajectory 19″, the motor vehicle 1 can first drive in the direction of the unoccupied parking area 18 approximately parallel to the other already parked vehicles 17 and only when it is adjacent to the unoccupied parking area 18, if necessary, by multiple back and forth movements, i.e., multiple times, to approach the orientation of the unoccupied parking area 18 in order to be able to park in this unoccupied parking area. In the case of forward parking, driving trajectory 19 ″ is primarily considered to be particularly representative for parking motor vehicle 1 in unoccupied parking area 18 , so that parking signs of motor vehicle 1 in unoccupied parking area 18 can be seen in driving trajectory 19 ″.

[0081] therefore Figure 2 It is shown that, based on driving trajectories 19 , 19 ′, 19 ″, 19 ′″, parking signs of motor vehicle 1 in unoccupied parking area 18 can be seen.

[0082] exist Figure 3 1 now shows a method for assisting the parking of a motor vehicle in an unoccupied parking area 18. In method step S1, at least one parking area information 20 is provided. The parking area information 20 describes an unoccupied parking area 18 in the surroundings 14 of the motor vehicle 1. The parking area information 20 can be determined by means of an environment detection device 2 of the motor vehicle 1. As an alternative or in addition to this, the parking area information 20 can be transmitted to the motor vehicle 1 by an external device 15, i.e., by a server device 16 or another vehicle 17, wherein this is achieved via a communication connection between corresponding communication interfaces 9. The parking area information 20 includes, for example, the coordinates of the unoccupied parking area 18 and locates the unoccupied parking area, for example, in the map 11.

[0083] In a further method step S2, at least one parking sign information 21 is detected. The parking sign information 21 describes the parking sign of the motor vehicle 1 in the unoccupied parking area 18. The at least one parking sign information 21 can, for example, describe the course of the driving trajectory 19, 19', 19", 19'". The parking sign information 21 is usually detected by the sensor device 3 of the motor vehicle 1, for example in that the sensor device detects a steering input made by the driver 13 on the steering device 8 of the motor vehicle 1 and provides it, for example, in the form of a driving trajectory 19, 19', 19", 19'".

[0084] In method step S3, a parking intention probability value 50 is determined. The parking intention probability value 50 indicates the parking intention probability of the driver 13 of the motor vehicle 1 in the unoccupied parking area 18 and is determined by applying a situation-dependent weighting criterion 51. The situation-dependent weighting criterion 51 is determined (or determined) for the parking sign information 21 taking into account the parking area information 20 and / or the parking direction information 49. The parking direction information 49 describes the parking direction of the motor vehicle 1 in the unoccupied parking area 18. In order to obtain the parking direction information 49, at least one parking sign information 21 and / or at least one parking area information 20 can be analyzed.

[0085] In method step S3, a plurality of parking sign information 21 is preferably fused taking into account the situation-dependent weights stored in the situation-dependent weighting criteria 51. It is important that an unoccupied parking area 18 is actually detected, i.e., parking area information 20 is provided. This is because if parking area information 20 is not present despite the detection of parking sign information 21, then a parking intention probability value 50 cannot be determined.

[0086] If the target parking space, i.e. the unoccupied parking area 18, is actually identified and therefore the parking area information 20 is present, then in method step S4 it is checked whether the determined parking intention probability value 50 is large enough to actually infer the parking intention. For this purpose, it is checked whether the determined parking intention probability value 50 is greater than the probability limit value 52. If this is the case, then in step S5 the driver assistance system 6 is automatically activated or recommended to be activated to assist the parking of the motor vehicle 1 in the unoccupied parking area 18. If the determined parking intention probability 50 is less than or equal to the probability limit value 52, the driver assistance system 6 is not automatically activated or recommended to be activated, but the method is terminated, for example, in method step S6. As an alternative to this, it can be provided that the method is executed again from the beginning, i.e., it is waited until the parking area information 20 and the parking sign information 21 are provided again, so that a new parking intention probability value 50 can be determined.

[0087] If a plurality of unoccupied parking spaces 18 are detected, a parking intention probability value 50 is determined for each detected unoccupied parking space 18. If a plurality of determined parking intention probability values ​​50 is greater than probability limit value 52, then in step S5, automatic activation or a suggested activation of driver assistance system 6 is performed only for unoccupied parking spaces 18 having the largest determined parking intention probability limit value 50.

[0088] The situation-dependent weighting criterion 51 takes into account at least one of the following information: the traffic situation in the surroundings 14 of the motor vehicle 1, the road type of the road on which the motor vehicle 1 is located, and / or the infrastructure affiliation of the surroundings 14 of the motor vehicle 1, in particular affiliation with a parking lot or a parking garage. Depending on the situation, the individual parking information items 21 are weighted differently.

[0089] Method step S1 is preferably performed by surroundings detection device 2, method step S2 by sensor device 3, method steps S3 and S4 by analysis device 4, and method step S5 by control device 5, if necessary in conjunction with display device 7, which is designed to display a recommendation for activating driver assistance system 6 on display device 7. Method step S6 is also performed by analysis device 4.

[0090] exist Figure 4 , different parking sign information 21 detected in step S2 are plotted. The parking sign information 21 particularly preferably has steering input information 22. This steering input information can describe a steering movement 23 of the motor vehicle 1, wherein in particular the driving trajectory 19, 19', 19", 19'" is referred to here. As an alternative or in addition to this, the steering input information 22 can describe a steering wheel steering angle 24 of a steering device 8 of the motor vehicle 1. This preferably refers to the steering wheel steering angle 24 that the steering device 8 has when the motor vehicle 1 is stationary. The steering wheel steering angle 24 is arranged between the wheels of the front axle of the motor vehicle 1 that are oriented parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the current position of the wheels of the front axle of the motor vehicle 1.

[0091] As an alternative or in addition to this, parking sign information 21 can have relative arrangement information 25. This relative arrangement information describes the current relative arrangement of motor vehicle 1 relative to unoccupied parking area 18. In particular, a lateral distance 26 between motor vehicle 1 and unoccupied parking area 18 can be taken into account. As an alternative or in addition to this, an angle 27 of motor vehicle 1 relative to unoccupied parking area 18 can be determined. Angle 27 is arranged between a center axis in the vehicle longitudinal direction of motor vehicle 1 and, for example, a boundary of unoccupied parking area 18 relative to surroundings 14 of parking area 18.

[0092] As an alternative or in addition thereto, the parking sign information 21 can describe whether the motor vehicle 1 has moved into the reversing area 28 at least with a reference point 29 of the motor vehicle 1, i.e. whether it is at least temporarily arranged in this reversing area. The reference point 29 is, for example, the center point of the rear wheel axle of the motor vehicle 1. The reversing area 28 is first determined by the analysis device 4, wherein the reversing area is the area in which the motor vehicle 1 will change the driving direction with a probability greater than a minimum probability when parking in the unoccupied parking area 18, when the motor vehicle 1 is parked starting from the current position 31 and orientation 32 of the motor vehicle 1. The reversing area 28 can be determined, for example, by a reversing point analysis based on the current position 31 and orientation 32 of the motor vehicle 1 and the parking area information 20, which has the parking area arrangement and the parking area position of the unoccupied parking area 18. Here, the reversing area 28 for rearward parking along the driving trajectory 19 in the parking area 18 arranged transversely to the road is plotted.

[0093] As an alternative or in addition to this, the parking sign information 21 can have deviation information 30. For this purpose, a current position 31 and an orientation 32 of the motor vehicle 1 are determined on a map 11 provided to the motor vehicle 1. The deviation information 30 describes the deviation between the determined orientation 32 and a typical orientation 32' for the determined position 31. This generally expected orientation 32' is depicted here based on the motor vehicle 1 shown in dashed lines.

[0094] In particular, it is always important to take into account the parking direction information 49 for the parking information 21 described so far, because the corresponding parking information 21 can always be seen in conjunction with the information about whether the motor vehicle 1 is parked longitudinally forward, transversely forward, longitudinally backward or transversely backward in an unoccupied parking space 18. Depending on the parking direction information 49, the individual parking information 21 described can indicate the parking intention of the driver 13 of the motor vehicle 1 to varying degrees. For example, the persuasiveness of the driving trajectory 19, 19', 19", 19'" depends on the parking direction information 49, because if Figure 2 As shown, different driving trajectories 19, 19', 19", 19'" are typical for forward or reverse parking and may be clearly identifiable or less clearly identifiable. For example, lateral distance 26 also depends on whether parking is longitudinally or transversely, forward or reverse. In a similar manner, specific requirements arise for steering wheel steering angle 24, angle 27 relative to unoccupied parking area 18, reversing area 28 and deviation information 30, depending on which parking direction of motor vehicle 1 is specified and / or how relative parking area 18 is oriented in surroundings 14 of unoccupied parking area 18 relative to the road or the current driving direction of motor vehicle 1.

[0095] Turn signal status information 33 may be considered as further parking sign information 21. This turn signal status information indicates the state of turn signal 12 of motor vehicle 1, i.e., whether it is currently activated or deactivated. Alternatively or in addition, parking sign information 21 may include viewing direction information 34, which describes viewing direction 36 and / or viewing duration 37 of viewing behavior 35 of driver 13 of motor vehicle 1.

[0096] As an alternative or in addition thereto, the parking sign information 21 may include driving speed information 38. The driving speed information describes a deviation 39 of a current speed 40 of the motor vehicle 1 from a setpoint speed 41 of the motor vehicle 1. The setpoint speed 41 may be determined, for example, by a traffic sign recognition device 42, transmitted to the motor vehicle 1 by at least one other vehicle 17 in the surroundings 14 of the motor vehicle 1 and / or detected by an environment detection device 2 of the motor vehicle 1. In this case, the setpoint speed 41 is usually an average speed of the other vehicles 17 in the surroundings 14 of the motor vehicle 1 and / or a predefined maximum speed on the road on which the motor vehicle 1 is currently traveling. The setpoint speed 41 is adapted to the current traffic situation, so that, for example, in a traffic jam and / or in stagnant traffic and / or near an obstacle on the road, a lower setpoint speed 41 is set than in free travel on a road with relatively few other road users.

[0097] As an alternative or in addition to this, the parking sign information 21 can have parking space evaluation information 43. The parking space evaluation information 43 is determined taking into account the parking area information 20 and can have one of the following information about the unoccupied parking area 18: the size 44 of the unoccupied parking area 18 compared to the size 44 of another unoccupied parking area space 45 detected at a previous time, which is an alternative unoccupied parking area 18 detected by the motor vehicle 1 earlier in terms of time. In the example depicted here, there are two unoccupied parking areas 18 arranged side by side, wherein the parking area space 45 depicted here on the left is smaller than the larger parking area 18 arranged next to it on the right. In this example, this is due to the fact that the two parking areas 18 are delimited by a wall 47, which is not arranged parallel to the depicted road here. The parking space evaluation information 43 will now take into account that the parking area 18 depicted here on the right has a larger size 44 than the parking area space 45 arranged to its left but detected at a previous time.

[0098] Alternatively or additionally, the parking space evaluation information 43 includes a spatial proximity to a destination 46, for example a destination 46 of the navigation system 10. Alternatively or additionally, the intuitiveness of the parking area 18 is taken into account taking into account the spatial extension of detected objects, for example a wall 47. Furthermore, the spatial proximity to a parking area 48 reserved for the motor vehicle 1 can be taken into account. Finally, an evaluation can also be performed, which is determined taking into account the above-mentioned individual information and, for example, performs a ranking of a plurality of potential parking areas 18.

[0099] The individual parking sign information 21 is evaluated individually by applying a situation-dependent weighting criterion 51, so that a parking intention probability value 50 is determined from the fusion of all these multiple parking sign information 21, wherein preferably multiple parking sign information 21 are always detected in method step S2. The parking intention of the driver 13 can only be actually inferred when a sufficient number of parking sign information 21 indicates the parking intention of the driver 13 according to the selected situation-dependent weighting, that is, only when the parking intention probability value 50 is greater than the probability limit value 52. Finally, in conjunction with the parking space recognition in the form of parking area information 20, the described method can assign to each recognized and suitable unoccupied parking area 18 a corresponding parking intention probability value 50, which indicates with what probability the driver 13 intends to park there. If the parking intention probability 50 is sufficiently high, i.e. if it is greater than the probability limit value 52, a specific parking desire of the driver 13 is detected, wherein for this purpose a clearly selected parking space, i.e. a selected unoccupied parking area 18, which is described in the form of parking area information 20, is taken into account. The driver assistance system 6 is then activated automatically and therefore without an operating input from the driver 13 to assist in parking the motor vehicle 1 in the unoccupied parking area 18. Alternatively, the option can be provided so that the driver 13 can manually activate the driver assistance system 6 himself if he actually wishes to do so.

[0100] The recognition of an unoccupied parking area 18 selected by driver 13 enables driver assistance system 6 to determine an optimal trajectory plan for parking in unoccupied parking area 18. The starting point here is always that motor vehicle 1 drives past a possible unoccupied parking area 18, after which or before or simultaneously with which at least one parking indication information 21 is analyzed and then a parking intention probability value 50 is determined for each unoccupied parking area 18. Even if a parking intention is recognized with sufficient probability, it is very important that parking area information 20 is actually present, i.e., the target parking space is recognized as an unoccupied parking area 18, for example. Only in this case is driver assistance system 6 automatically activated and / or prompted to be activated in step S5.

[0101] In summary, the example shows a method for determining a parking intention of driver 13 and for determining a target parking space desired by driver 13 , ie, an unoccupied parking area 18 selected by driver 13 in which he wishes to park his motor vehicle 1 .

[0102] List of Reference Numerals

[0103] 1 Motor Vehicle

[0104] 2 Environmental detection device

[0105] 3 Sensor device

[0106] 4 Analysis device

[0107] 5 Control device

[0108] 6 Driver Assistance Systems

[0109] 7 Display device

[0110] 8 Steering device

[0111] 9 Communication Interface

[0112] 10. Navigation System

[0113] 11 Map

[0114] 12 Turn signal

[0115] 13 Driver

[0116] 14 Environment

[0117] 15 External devices

[0118] 16 Server Device

[0119] 17 Vehicles

[0120] 18 Parking Area

[0121] 19, 19', 19", 19'' driving track

[0122] 20 Parking area information

[0123] 21 Parking Sign Information

[0124] 22 Steering input information

[0125] 23 Turning movement

[0126] 24 Steering wheel steering angle

[0127] 25 Relative layout information

[0128] 26 Lateral distance

[0129] 27 Corner

[0130] 28 Inversion Area

[0131] 29 Reference Points

[0132] 30 Deviation Information

[0133] 31 Position

[0134] 32, 32' Directional

[0135] 33 Turn signal status information

[0136] 34 Observation direction information

[0137] 35 Observation

[0138] 36 Observation direction

[0139] 37 Observation time

[0140] 38 Driving speed information

[0141] 39 Deviation

[0142] 40 Current speed

[0143] 41 Rated speed

[0144] 42 Traffic sign recognition device

[0145] 43 Parking Space Assessment Information

[0146] 44 Size

[0147] 45 Parking area

[0148] 46 destinations

[0149] 47 Wall

[0150] 48 reserved parking areas

[0151] 49 Parking sign information

[0152] 50 Parking intention probability value

[0153] 51 Scenario-dependent weighting criteria

[0154] 52 Probability limit value

[0155] S1 to S6 Method steps

Claims

1. A method for assisting parking of a motor vehicle (1), wherein: The method comprises the following steps: - providing (S1) at least one parking area information (20) describing an unoccupied parking area (18) in the environment (14) of the motor vehicle (1); - detecting (S2) at least one parking sign information (21), the at least one parking sign information describing a parking sign of the motor vehicle (1) in an unoccupied parking area (18), wherein the at least one parking sign information (21) comprises steering input information (22), the steering input information describing a steering input of a driver (13) of the motor vehicle (1); - determining (S3) a parking intention probability value (50) by applying a situation-dependent weighting criterion (51) to at least one parking evidence information (21), taking into account at least one detected parking area information (20), the parking intention probability value describing the probability of a parking intention of the driver (13) of the motor vehicle (1) to park in an unoccupied parking area (18); and If the determined parking intention probability value (50) is greater than (S4) a probability limit value (52), a driver assistance system (6) is automatically activated or suggested to be activated (S5) to assist the motor vehicle (1) in parking in an unoccupied parking area (18).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: By analyzing at least one parking sign information (21) and / or at least one parking area information (20), parking direction information (49) is determined and taken into account when applying the situation-related weighting criterion (51), the parking direction information (49) describing the parking direction of the motor vehicle (1) in an unoccupied parking area (18).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one parking area information (20) is determined by means of an environment detection device (2) of the motor vehicle (1) and / or is transmitted to the motor vehicle (1) by an external device (15).

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The steering input information (22) describes a steering movement (23) of the motor vehicle (1).

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The steering input information (22) describes the driving trajectory.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The steering input information (22) describes a steering wheel steering angle (24) of a steering device (8) of the motor vehicle (1).

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The steering input information (22) describes the steering wheel steering angle (24) which the steering device (8) has when the motor vehicle (1) is stationary.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The parking information (21) has relative arrangement information (25) which describes the current relative arrangement of the motor vehicle (1) relative to an unoccupied parking area (18).

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The relative arrangement information describes a lateral distance (26) and / or an angle (27) of the motor vehicle (1) relative to an unoccupied parking area (18).

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: A reversing area (28) is determined, in which, when a motor vehicle (1) is parked in an unoccupied parking area (18) starting from a current position (31) and orientation (32) of the motor vehicle (1), the motor vehicle (1) will change its driving direction in the reversing area with a probability greater than a minimum probability while parking in the unoccupied parking area (18), and at least one parking sign information (21) describes whether the motor vehicle (1) has moved into the determined reversing area (28) at least with respect to a reference point (29) of the motor vehicle (1).

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: A position (31) and an orientation (32) of a motor vehicle (1) are determined on a map (11) provided to the motor vehicle (1), and at least one parking information item (21) has deviation information (30) which describes a deviation between the determined orientation (32) and an orientation (32') typical for the determined position (31).

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: At least one parking sign information (21) comprises turn signal status information (33) which describes the state of a turn signal (12) of the motor vehicle (1).

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein: At least one parking sign information (21) has viewing direction information (34) which describes the viewing direction (36) and / or the viewing duration (37) of the viewing behavior (35) of the driver (13).

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein: At least one parking sign information (21) comprises driving speed information (38), wherein the driving speed information (38) describes a deviation (39) of a current speed (40) of the motor vehicle (1) from a setpoint speed (41), wherein the setpoint speed (41) is determined by means of a traffic sign recognition device (42), transmitted to the motor vehicle (1) by other vehicles (17) in the environment (14) of the motor vehicle (1) and / or detected by means of an environment detection device (2) of the motor vehicle (1).

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein: At least one parking information item (21) has parking space evaluation information (43), which is determined taking into account the parking area information (20) and has at least one of the following information about an unoccupied parking area (18): - the size (44) compared to an unoccupied parking area space (45) detected at a previous time; - spatial proximity to the destination (46); - intuitiveness taking into account the spatial extension of at least one detected object (47) in the environment (14) of an unoccupied parking area (18); - spatial proximity to a parking area (48) reserved for the motor vehicle (1); - an evaluation determined taking into account at least one of the size, spatial proximity to a destination, intuitiveness and spatial proximity to a parking area reserved for the motor vehicle.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein: If a plurality of unoccupied parking spaces (18) are detected, a parking intention probability value (50) is determined for each of the plurality of unoccupied parking spaces (18) detected, and if a plurality of the determined parking intention probability values ​​(50) are greater than a probability limit value (52), an automatic activation or a suggested activation of a driver assistance system (6) is performed only for the unoccupied parking space (18) having the largest determined parking intention probability value (50).

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The situation-related weighting criteria (51) take into account at least one of the following situation information: - Traffic situations in the motor vehicle environment (14); - the road type of the road on which the motor vehicle (1) is travelling; - Infrastructure dependency of the environment (14) of the motor vehicle (1).

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The infrastructure is a parking lot or a parking building.

19. A motor vehicle (1) which is designed to carry out the method according to one of the preceding claims.

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