Parking assistance device, parking assistance method, and parking assistance program

Abstract

The present invention provides a parking assistance device, a parking assistance method and a parking assistance program. The parking assistance device (100) includes a blind spot area calculation unit (120) that calculates the size of the blind spot area from the vehicle when the vehicle has parked at a specific position in a parking space reserved by the vehicle. In addition, the parking assistance device (100) includes a parking position determination unit (130) that determines a specific position where a specified condition related to the size of the blind spot area is satisfied as a parking position. In addition, the parking assistance device (100) includes a parking assistance unit (140) that assists the vehicle in parking at the determined parking position.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is based on patent application No. 2020-081439 filed in Japan on May 1, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The disclosure in this specification relates to a technology for assisting parking of a vehicle. Background Art

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a device for assisting a vehicle in exiting a parking area. The parking assist device stores information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle when the vehicle moves into the parking area. When a blind spot exists around the vehicle during exiting the parking area, the parking assist device supplements the information about the blind spot using the surrounding environment information stored during entry.

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-83481

[0006] Since the device of Patent Document 1 supplements the information of the blind spot area when the vehicle leaves based on the surrounding environment information when the vehicle enters, there is a situation where the surrounding moving objects cannot be detected when the vehicle leaves. As such, in the technology of Patent Document 1, it is difficult to grasp the surrounding environment when the vehicle leaves. Summary of the invention

[0007] The purpose of the disclosure is to provide a parking assistance device, a parking assistance method, and a parking assistance program that can easily grasp the surrounding environment when a vehicle leaves.

[0008] The multiple methods disclosed in this specification adopt different technical means to achieve their respective purposes. In addition, the reference numerals in parentheses in the claims and this specification are examples of the correspondence relationship with the specific units described in the embodiment described later as one mode, and do not limit the technical scope.

[0009] A parking assistance device disclosed herein comprises: a blind spot area calculation unit that calculates the size of the blind spot area from the vehicle when the vehicle has parked at a specific position in a parking space reserved by the vehicle; a parking position determination unit that determines a specific position where a specified condition related to the size of the blind spot area is satisfied as a parking position; and a parking assistance unit that assists the vehicle in parking at the determined parking position.

[0010] A disclosed parking assistance method is a parking assistance method executed by a processor, comprising: a calculation step of calculating the size of a blind spot area from a vehicle when the vehicle has parked at a specific position in a parking space reserved by the vehicle; a determination step of determining a specific position where a specified condition related to the size of the blind spot area is satisfied as a parking position; and an assistance step of assisting the vehicle in parking at the determined parking position.

[0011] A disclosed parking assistance program is a parking assistance program stored in a storage medium and including instructions for a processor to execute, the instructions including: a calculation step of calculating the size of a blind spot area from the vehicle when the vehicle has parked at a specific position in a parking space reserved by the vehicle; a determination step of determining a specific position where a specified condition related to the size of the blind spot area is satisfied as a parking position; and an assistance step of assisting the vehicle in parking at the determined parking position.

[0012] According to these disclosures, a specific position in a parking space where a predetermined condition related to the size of a blind spot area is satisfied is determined as a parking position, and parking at the parking position is assisted. Therefore, the vehicle is parked at a position taking into account the size of the blind spot area, and the surrounding environment when the vehicle leaves can be easily grasped. Thus, a parking assistance device, a parking assistance method, and a parking assistance program that can easily grasp the surrounding environment when the vehicle leaves can be provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing a system including a parking assist device.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a block diagram showing an example of the functions of the parking assist device.

[0015] Figure 3 This is a diagram schematically showing a method of determining a parking position.

[0016] Figure 4 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a parking assistance method executed by the parking assistance device.

[0017] Figure 5 This is a block diagram showing an example of the functions of the parking assist device in the second embodiment.

[0018] Figure 6 It is a diagram schematically showing a method of determining a parking position in the second embodiment.

[0019] Figure 7 This is a flowchart showing an example of a parking assistance method executed by the parking assistance device according to the second embodiment.

[0020] Figure 8This is a flowchart showing an example of a parking assistance method executed by the parking assistance device according to the third embodiment.

[0021] Fig. 9 This is a block diagram showing an example of functions of the parking assist device according to the fourth embodiment.

[0022] Fig.10 This is a flowchart showing an example of a parking assistance method executed by the parking assistance device according to the fourth embodiment.

[0023] Fig.11 This is a block diagram showing an example of the functions of the parking assist device in the fifth embodiment.

[0024] Fig.12 It is a diagram schematically showing a method of determining a parking position in the fifth embodiment.

[0025] Fig.13 This is a flowchart showing an example of a parking assistance method executed by the parking assistance device according to the fifth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] (First Embodiment)

[0027] Reference Figure 1 to Figure 4 , the parking assistance device of the first embodiment is described. In the first embodiment, the parking assistance device is provided by an automatic driving ECU 100 mounted on the vehicle A. The automatic driving ECU 100 is an electronic control device that realizes an automatic driving function that can replace the driver to perform the driving operation of the vehicle A. The automatic driving ECU 100 assists in parking the vehicle A. The automatic driving ECU 100 is connected to the external sensor 10, the sensor DB 20, the map DB 30, the vehicle-mounted communicator 40, the drive control device 50, the brake control device 60 and the steering control device 70 via a communication bus or the like.

[0028] The external sensor 10 is an autonomous sensor mounted on the vehicle A to detect objects existing around the vehicle A. The external sensor 10 is, for example, a peripheral monitoring camera that takes the periphery of the vehicle A as the shooting range. Alternatively, the external sensor 10 may be a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) that detects a point cloud of feature points of ground objects, or a combination thereof. In addition, the external sensor 10 may also include a millimeter wave radar and sonar, etc. The external sensor 10 provides the detection information to the automatic driving ECU 100 in sequence.

[0029] The sensor DB 20 is a nonvolatile memory that stores sensor information related to the external sensor 10 mounted on the vehicle A. The sensor DB 20 stores at least information required for calculation of the blind spot area Ab described later. When the external sensor 10 is provided by a surrounding monitoring camera, the sensor DB 20 stores the installation position and field of view angle of the surrounding monitoring camera as sensor information.

[0030] The map DB 30 is a non-volatile memory that stores map data such as link data, node data, road shape, and structures. In the map data, the parking lot at least includes the position and shape of the parking space and its surroundings. The map data can also be a three-dimensional map composed of a point cloud of characteristic points of the road shape and the structure. In addition, the three-dimensional map can also be a map generated by REM (Road Experience Management) based on the captured image. Based on the latest information received by the vehicle-mounted communicator 40, the map data stored in the map DB is updated regularly or at any time.

[0031] The vehicle-mounted communicator 40 is a communication module installed in the vehicle A. The vehicle-mounted communicator 40 has at least the function of V2N (Vehicle to cellular Network) communication according to communication standards such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) and 5G, and transmits and receives radio waves with base stations around the vehicle A. The vehicle-mounted communicator 40 may also have functions such as road-to-vehicle (Vehicle to roadside Infrastructure) communication and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. The vehicle-mounted communicator 40 can collaborate between the cloud and the vehicle-mounted system (Cloud to Car) through V2N communication. By installing the vehicle-mounted communicator 40, the vehicle A becomes a networked car that can be connected to the Internet.

[0032] The drive control device 50, the brake control device 60 and the steering control device 70 are travel control devices that output control signals to the travel control device mounted on the vehicle A. Each device 50, 60, 70 controls the travel control device based on the control instructions obtained from the automatic driving ECU 100 to achieve autonomous driving or driving assistance in accordance with the control instructions. Specifically, the drive control device 50 performs acceleration control by outputting a control signal to the electronically controlled throttle valve. The brake control device 60 performs braking control by outputting a control signal to the brake actuator. The steering control device 70 performs steering control by outputting a control signal to the EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor.

[0033] The automatic driving ECU 100 assists the parking of the vehicle A based on the information from the above-mentioned external sensor 10, sensor DB 20, map DB 30, etc. The automatic driving ECU 100 is a structure including a computer having a memory 101, a processor 102, an input / output interface, and a bus connecting them as a main body. The processor 102 is hardware for calculation processing. The processor 102 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)-CPU, etc. as a core.

[0034] The memory 101 is a non-transitory tangible storage medium such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic medium, and an optical medium that non-temporarily stores or stores computer-readable programs and data. The memory 101 stores various programs executed by the processor 102, such as a parking assistance program described later.

[0035] The processor 102 executes a plurality of commands included in the parking assistance program stored in the memory 101. As a result, the autonomous driving ECU 100 constructs a plurality of functional units for parking assistance of the vehicle A. In this way, in the autonomous driving ECU 100, the program stored in the memory 101 causes the processor 102 to execute a plurality of commands, thereby constructing a plurality of functional units. Specifically, Figure 2 As shown, in the automatic driving ECU 100 , functional units such as an object recognition unit 110 , a blind spot area calculation unit 120 , a parking position determination unit 130 , and a parking control execution unit 140 are constructed.

[0036] The object recognition unit 110 recognizes objects around the host vehicle A based on the detection information from the external sensor 10. Specifically, the object recognition unit 110 recognizes the position and shape of obstacles such as other vehicles B that are the main cause of the blind spot area Ab. In addition, the object recognition unit 110 may also recognize objects based on information from inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles B or network communication with a traffic center. The object recognition unit 110 sequentially provides the recognition information to the blind spot area calculation unit 120.

[0037] The blind spot area calculation unit 120 obtains the size of the blind spot area Ab from the host vehicle A. The blind spot area Ab is an area where the surrounding objects cannot be recognized from the host vehicle A. For example, the blind spot area Ab is an area out of the detection range of the external sensor 10. The blind spot area calculation unit 120 obtains the size of the blind spot area Ab through calculation based on sensor information from the sensor DB 20, map data from the map DB 30, and recognition information from the object recognition unit 110.

[0038] The blind spot area calculation unit 120 calculates the area separated from the detectable area As of the external sensor 10 in the parked host vehicle A as the blind spot area Ab. For example, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 estimates the blind spot area Ab by defining a lane area Ar that is continuous with the parking space Sa reserved by the host vehicle A and removing the overlapping portion with the detectable area As of the external sensor 10 from the lane area SV. In addition, the parking space Sa reserved by the host vehicle A may be detected by the external sensor 10 or the like during the implementation of the automatic driving function, or may be set according to an instruction from a traffic center. The blind spot area calculation unit 120 calculates the blind spot area Ab for each parking candidate position set by the parking position determination unit 130 described later.

[0039] The lane area Ar is an area in the lane that the host vehicle A enters when leaving the parking space Sa, and is defined based on map data. The range of the lane area Ar is preset to a range that may affect the behavior of the host vehicle A when leaving due to the presence of other vehicles B, for example.

[0040] The detectable area As is calculated based on the sensor information and the recognition information. Specifically, the detectable area As is the area that is not blocked by objects when the camera position in the vehicle A when the vehicle A is parked at a specific parking position captures the outside of the vehicle within a specified field of view.

[0041] The blind spot area calculation unit 120 calculates the size (area) of the blind spot area Ab based on the lane area Ar and the detectable area As. Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 , when other vehicles B are parked on both sides of the parking space Sa of the host vehicle A, two blind spot areas AbL and AbR are generated due to the other vehicles B. In this case, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 adds the sizes of the generated blind spot areas AbL and AbR to calculate the size of the entire blind spot area Ab. The blind spot area calculation unit 120 sequentially provides the calculated sizes of the blind spot areas Ab to the parking position determination unit 130.

[0042] The parking position determination unit 130 determines the parking position of the host vehicle A at which the prescribed condition related to the size of the blind spot area Ab is satisfied, based on the size of the blind spot area Ab calculated by the blind spot area calculation unit 120. For example, the parking position determination unit 130 determines a specific position at which the size of the blind spot area Ab is less than the allowable value as the parking position at which the prescribed condition is satisfied. Specifically, when a plurality of parking candidate positions are assumed, the parking position determination unit 130 determines the position at which the size of the blind spot area Ab is the minimum value among the parking candidate positions as the parking position. In this case, the minimum value is an example of an "allowable value". In the present embodiment, the prescribed condition can also be referred to as an allowable condition that allows the size of the blind spot area Ab to be permitted.

[0043] The parking position determination unit 130 determines a parking position that satisfies the above-mentioned permission conditions based on a grid point search method. In detail, the parking position determination unit 130 first assumes that the parking space Sa of the vehicle A is divided into grid lines (see Figure 3 ). In addition, the grid spacing at this time can be set to an arbitrary value. The parking position determination unit 130 uses the position of the intersection point (grid point) between the grid lines as the parking candidate position. However, the parking position determination unit 130 removes the grid point position where the vehicle A protrudes from the parking space Sa when parking from the parking candidate position. At this time, the parking position determination unit 130 assumes that the vehicle A is parked in such a way that the grid point position coincides with the center of gravity of the vehicle A, and determines whether the vehicle A protrudes from the parking space Sa.

[0044] The parking position determination unit 130 provides the information of each parking candidate position to the blind spot area calculation unit 120. When the size of the blind spot area Ab when the vehicle is parked at each parking candidate position is calculated by the blind spot area calculation unit 120, the parking position determination unit 130 selects the parking candidate position having the smallest size of the blind spot area Ab, that is, the smallest parking candidate position Pc (see Figure 3 Next, the parking position determination unit 130 further divides the four grids near the minimum parking candidate position Pc, and provides the generated new grid points as new parking candidate positions to the blind spot area calculation unit 120 (refer to Figure 3 Here, the so-called four grids near the minimum parking candidate position Pc are four grids adjacent to each other with the minimum parking candidate position Pc as the center.

[0045] The parking position determination unit 130 repeats the above processing until the size of the grid converges within the preset allowable range. The parking position determination unit 130 determines the grid point position (minimum parking candidate position Pc) with the smallest size of the blind spot area Ab among the grid point positions in the grid whose size is within the allowable range as the actual parking position. The parking position determination unit 130 provides the determined parking position to the parking control execution unit 140. In addition, the parking position determination unit 130 may determine the grid point as the parking position when extracting a grid point whose size of the blind spot area Ab converges within a predetermined range. In this case, the convergence of the size of the blind spot area Ab within the predetermined range is a permissible condition.

[0046] The parking control execution unit 140 generates a control command for executing parking at the determined parking position. For example, the parking control execution unit 140 generates a parking track, which is a driving track from the current position of the vehicle A to the parking position. Then, the parking control execution unit 140 provides the braking command, driving command, and steering command required for the vehicle A to travel along the parking track as control commands to each driving control device 50, the braking control device 60, and the steering control device 70. Thus, the parking control execution unit 140 assists the vehicle A in parking at the parking position. In addition, when the parking track does not satisfy a pre-defined constraint condition, the parking control execution unit 140 may also interrupt the parking on the parking track. In this case, the parking position is reset by the blind spot area calculation unit 120 and the parking position determination unit 130. Here, the constraint condition is, for example, that the number of turns is less than a specified number of times. The parking control execution unit 140 is an example of a "parking assistance unit".

[0047] Next, according to the following Figure 4 , the process of the parking assistance method executed by the automatic driving ECU 100 through the cooperation of the functional parts is described. In addition, the so-called "S" in the process described below means multiple steps of the process executed by multiple commands included in the parking assistance program. The automatic driving ECU 100 starts the process described below when approaching the parking space Sa of the vehicle A.

[0048] First, in S10, the object recognition unit 110 obtains the position and shape of the objects around the parking space Sa of the vehicle A based on the detection information from the external sensor 10. Next, in S20, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 sets the lane area Ar based on the map data. In the following S30, the parking position determination unit 130 divides the parking space Sa into grids. And, in S40, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 calculates the size of the blind spot area Ab when parking at each grid point. Then, in S50, the parking position determination unit 130 sets a new grid around the grid point (minimum parking candidate position Pc) where the blind spot area Ab is the smallest.

[0049] Next, in S60, the parking position determination unit 130 determines whether the size of the grid set in S50 is within the permissible range. If it is determined that the size of the grid is not within the permissible range, the process returns to S40 to calculate the blind spot area Ab under the grid points in the new grid. On the other hand, if it is determined in S60 that the size of the grid is within the permissible range, the process proceeds to S70, and the parking position determination unit 130 determines the smallest grid point of the blind spot area Ab as the parking position.

[0050] Next, in S80, the parking control execution unit 140 generates a travel trajectory (parking trajectory) from the current position of the host vehicle A to the parking position. Next, in S90, the parking control execution unit 140 generates a control command for realizing the parking trajectory and outputs it to each control device to execute parking. When S90 is executed, the automatic driving ECU 100 ends a series of processing.

[0051] In addition, the above-mentioned S40 is an example of a "calculation process", S20, S30, S50, S60, S70 are examples of a "determination process", and S80, S90 are examples of an "auxiliary process".

[0052] According to the first embodiment described above, a parking position that satisfies a prescribed condition related to the size of the blind spot area Ab from the host vehicle A is determined within the scheduled parking space of the host vehicle A, and parking to the determined parking position is assisted. Therefore, since the host vehicle A can park at a position that takes into account the size of the blind spot area Ab, the surrounding environment when the vehicle leaves can be easily grasped. Thus, the surrounding environment when the vehicle leaves can be reliably grasped. In particular, in the first embodiment, since the position where the blind spot area Ab is less than the allowable value (minimum value) is determined as the parking position, the range in which the surrounding environment can be directly grasped when the vehicle leaves can be made larger.

[0053] In addition, according to the first embodiment, the grid points when the parking space Sa of the host vehicle A is divided into a plurality of grids are assumed to be the parking candidate positions, and the grid point with the smallest blind spot area Ab is determined as the parking position. Thus, since the parking position is determined by simply comparing the sizes of the blind spot areas Ab at the grid points that become the parking candidate positions, the calculation process becomes simpler than calculating the position with the smallest blind spot area Ab by geometric analysis.

[0054] (Second Embodiment)

[0055] In the second embodiment, referring to Figure 5 to Figure 7 A modification of the automatic driving ECU 100 in the first embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the automatic driving ECU 100 includes a direction determination unit 105 in addition to the functional units of the first embodiment.

[0056] The direction determination unit 105 determines the approach direction of other vehicles in the lane. The direction determination unit 105 determines the approach direction based on, for example, map data obtained from a map DB. Specifically, in the case of information that specifies the existence direction of other vehicles approaching the vehicle A, such as a one-way street, the direction determination unit 105 determines the existence direction as the approach direction. Alternatively, the direction determination unit 105 may also infer the approach direction based on the lane and its surrounding road structure, the location of facilities, the location of crosswalks, etc. in the map data. In addition, the direction determination unit 105 may also obtain the operation information of other vehicles from a traffic center, etc., and determine the approach direction based on the operation information. The direction determination unit 105 provides the information related to the approach direction to the blind spot area calculation unit 120. The direction determination unit 105 is an example of an "approaching direction inference unit."

[0057] The blind spot area calculation unit 120 of the second embodiment calculates the size of the area existing in the approach direction (hereinafter, the approach direction area) in the entire blind spot area Ab. Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 1 , when the blind spot area Ab exists on both sides of the detectable area, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 may use the blind spot area AbL adjacent to the approach direction side of the detectable area As as the approach direction area. Then, the parking position determination unit 130 determines the grid point (minimum parking candidate position Pc) where the size of the approach direction area is the minimum value as the parking position. In this case, the "prescribed condition" is that the size of the approach direction area is less than the allowable value, and the minimum value is an example of the "allowable value".

[0058] Below, according to Figure 7The flow of the parking assistance method executed by the cooperation of the functional modules of the second embodiment will be described. In the following embodiments, for steps marked with the same reference numerals as those in the flow of the first embodiment, the description of the first embodiment is cited.

[0059] After S10 and S20, in S25, the direction determination unit 105 determines the approach direction of other vehicles in the lane. Then, after S30, in S45, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 calculates the size of the approach direction area in the blind spot area Ab based on the approach direction information. In the following S55, the parking position determination unit 130 sets a new grid around the grid point (minimum parking candidate position Pc) where the approach direction area is the smallest. In S75, which further passes through S60, the parking position determination unit 130 determines the position of the grid point where the approach direction area is the smallest, which is determined by the processing of S30 to S60, as the parking position. After S75, the processing of S80 to S90 follows. S25 is an example of an "approach direction inference process."

[0060] According to the second embodiment, the approach direction of another vehicle traveling on the road that the host vehicle A enters from the scheduled parking space is estimated. Then, the position where the size of the approach direction area, that is, the area in the blind spot area Ab located in the approach direction is the smallest is determined as the parking position. Therefore, the blind spot area Ab in the direction that the vehicle should pay special attention to when leaving can be made smaller. In addition, the parking position determined in this case is not limited to the position where the entire blind spot area Ab is the smallest.

[0061] (Third Embodiment)

[0062] In the third embodiment, a modification of the automatic driving ECU 100 in the first embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the automatic driving ECU 100 readjusts the parking position of the host vehicle A according to the position change of the surrounding objects after the vehicle is parked.

[0063] Specifically, the object recognition unit 110 determines whether the surrounding objects have moved after the vehicle A is parked. In particular, the object recognition unit 110 determines whether other vehicles B parked around the vehicle A have moved. For example, when other vehicles B parked around the vehicle A leave the parking space, when other vehicles B are replaced by other vehicles, when the position change of other vehicles B from the parking start time of the vehicle A is outside the prescribed range, etc., the object recognition unit 110 may determine that other vehicles B have moved. The object recognition unit 110 sequentially provides the position and shape of other vehicles B after the movement as other vehicle information to the blind spot area calculation unit 120.

[0064] The blind spot area calculation unit 120 and the parking position determination unit 130 recalculate the blind spot area Ab based on other vehicle information and re-determine the parking position with the smallest blind spot area Ab. In addition, the parking position determination unit 130 may set a constraint condition such that the new parking position is limited to a range that can be reached from the parking position before adjustment only by movement within the parking space Sa.

[0065] Below, according to Figure 8 The following is a description of the process of the parking assistance method executed by the cooperation of the functional modules of the third embodiment. Figure 8 A series of processing is shown.

[0066] After S10, in S15, the object recognition unit 110 determines whether the other vehicle B parked around the host vehicle A has moved. If it is determined that the other vehicle B has not moved, the process returns to S10, and if it is determined that the other vehicle B has moved, the process continues with S20 to S90.

[0067] According to the third embodiment, if the movement of other vehicles B parked around the host vehicle A after parking is detected, the size of the blind spot area Ab is re-determined to a parking position within the allowable range. Then, the movement of the host vehicle A to the re-determined parking position is assisted. Therefore, even if other vehicles B parked around move after the host vehicle A is parked, the parking position is updated so that the blind spot area Ab becomes smaller. Therefore, the state in which the blind spot area Ab is relatively small can be maintained until the vehicle leaves.

[0068] (Fourth Embodiment)

[0069] In the fourth embodiment, referring to Fig. 9 , Fig.10 A modification of the automatic driving ECU 100 in the first embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the automatic driving ECU 100 communicates with the center 200 via the in-vehicle communicator 40 .

[0070] The center 200 is a server device that manages the operation of vehicles. The vehicles managed and operated by the center 200 may include the vehicle A or not. The center 200 includes a vehicle information DB 210, a map DB 220, a center control unit 240, and a communication unit 250 that communicates with the vehicle-mounted communication device 40 of the vehicle A via a network communication network.

[0071] The vehicle information DB 210 is a non-volatile memory that stores information related to the vehicle to be operated and managed (target vehicle), namely, target vehicle information. The target vehicle information includes information related to the size and shape of the target vehicle, etc. The map DB 220 is a non-volatile memory that stores map data similarly to the map DB 30 of the vehicle A.

[0072] The central control unit 240 is similar to the automatic driving ECU 100, and is a structure including a computer having a memory, a processor, an input / output interface, and a bus connecting them as a main body. The memory stores a management program for managing the operation of the vehicle. In the central control unit 240, the management program causes the processor to execute multiple commands to construct multiple functional units. Specifically, the central control unit 240 constructs functional units such as an operation planning unit 241 and a parking management unit 242.

[0073] The operation planning unit 241 generates an operation plan for a vehicle to be operated and managed (target vehicle). The operation plan includes, for example, a travel route to a destination (parking lot, etc.), an estimated arrival time, and an estimated departure time to the next destination.

[0074] The parking management unit 242 manages the parking of the target vehicle. The parking management unit 242 determines a parking space for the target vehicle scheduled to park in the parking lot based on the operation plan and the map data of the map DB 220. For example, the parking management unit 242 allocates parking spaces based on the scheduled arrival times of a plurality of target vehicles entering the parking lot and the scheduled departure times of the target vehicles leaving the parking lot so as to suppress interference with each other's operations. In addition, the parking management unit 242 may also determine the scheduled parking position within the allocated parking space. The parking management unit 242 provides information related to the scheduled arrival time, scheduled departure time, and allocated parking space of the target vehicle to the host vehicle A via the communication unit 250 as parking reservation information. The parking reservation information is an example of "prediction information".

[0075] The blind spot area calculation unit 120 of the automatic driving ECU 100 calculates the size of the blind spot area Ab based on the parking schedule information from the center 200 in addition to the recognition information from the object recognition unit 110. That is, when there is another vehicle B that is predicted to park in another parking space at the scheduled departure time of the host vehicle A, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 assumes the blind spot area Ab formed by the other vehicle B and calculates its size. In addition, when the operation of the host vehicle A is managed by the operation planning unit 241 of the center 200, the scheduled departure time of the host vehicle A is obtained from the center 200. Alternatively, the automatic driving ECU 100 may have a function of generating an operation plan for the host vehicle A, and the scheduled departure time may be set by the function. When the scheduled parking position of the other vehicle B is included in the scheduled parking information, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 assumes that the vehicle is parked at the scheduled parking position and calculates the size of the blind spot area Ab. If there is no information on the planned parking position of the other vehicle B, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 may calculate the size of the blind spot area Ab assuming that the other vehicle B is parked at a predetermined position such as the center of the parking space.

[0076] Below, according to Fig.10 The flow of the parking assistance method executed by the cooperation of the functional modules of the fourth embodiment is described. After S10, in S17, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 obtains the parking reservation information from the center 200. Then, after S20 to S30, in S40, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 calculates the size of the blind spot area based on the identification information and the parking reservation information. After S40, the processing of S50 to S90 is continued.

[0077] According to the fourth embodiment, the blind spot area Ab is calculated based on the parking schedule information about other vehicles B that are parked around the host vehicle A at the scheduled departure time of the host vehicle A. Therefore, when deciding the parking position, the blind spot area Ab formed by other vehicles B that are not present around the host vehicle A when the host vehicle A is parked can be considered. Therefore, the host vehicle A can be parked at a position where the blind spot area Ab becomes smaller more reliably when the vehicle leaves.

[0078] (Fifth Embodiment)

[0079] In the fifth embodiment, referring to Figures 11 to 13 A modification of the automatic driving ECU 100 in the fourth embodiment is described. In the fifth embodiment, in addition to the same functional units as those in the first embodiment, the automatic driving ECU 100 further includes a reflection area determination unit 106. In addition, the vehicle information DB 210 of the center 200 includes reflection object information of the target vehicle (described later).

[0080] The reflection area determination unit 106 obtains information related to mirror reflectors existing around the vehicle A after parking. The mirror reflector is a reflector that can be visually confirmed by reflecting the surrounding environment, such as a mirror component installed in another vehicle B. The mirror component can also be a door rearview mirror or other components. The reflection area determination unit 106 obtains the position, posture, shape, size, etc. of the mirror reflector as reflector information. For example, this information is obtained from the vehicle information DB 210 of the center 200. In addition, the reflection area determination unit 106 can also obtain the reflector information by communicating with the vehicle B having a mirror reflector, or by analyzing the detection information of the external sensor 10.

[0081] The reflection area determination unit 106 determines the reflection area Am of the specular reflector based on the reflector information. The reflection area Am is an area that can be photographed by the surrounding monitoring camera using the reflection of the specular reflector when the vehicle A is parked at the parking candidate position. The reflection area Am is an example of a "recognizable area". The reflection area determination unit 106 provides information related to the calculated reflection area Am to the blind spot area calculation unit 120.

[0082] The blind spot area calculation unit 120 calculates the blind spot area Ab based on the identification information, other vehicle parking information, and the determined reflection area Am. For example, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 removes both the detectable area As and the reflection area Am from the lane area Ar as the blind spot area Ab, and calculates its size (see Fig.12 ).

[0083] Below, according to Fig.13 The flow of the parking assistance method executed by the cooperation of the functional modules of the fifth embodiment will be described. In addition, for the steps marked with the same reference numerals as those in the flow of the fourth embodiment, the description of the fourth embodiment is cited.

[0084] After S10 to S30, in S35, the reflection area determination unit 106 determines the reflection area Am based on the reflection object information obtained from the center 200. Then, in S40, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 calculates the size of the blind spot area Ab based on the identification information, other vehicle parking information, and the visible area. After S40, the processing of S50 to S90 follows.

[0085] According to the fifth embodiment, the blind spot area Ab is calculated based on the reflection area Am of the reflector. Thus, the size of the blind spot area Ab is calculated based on the reflection area Am of the reflector. Therefore, the host vehicle A can park at a position where the blind spot area Ab is further reduced.

[0086] In the fifth embodiment, the reflection area determination unit 106 may also be able to control the position and posture of the reflective object through inter-vehicle communication, etc. In this case, the reflection area determination unit 106 may determine the largest reflection area Am within the controllable range of the reflective object at each parking candidate position.

[0087] (Other embodiments)

[0088] The disclosure in this specification is not limited to the illustrated embodiments. The disclosure includes the illustrated embodiments and the variations made by those skilled in the art based thereon. For example, the disclosure is not limited to the combination of parts and / or elements shown in the embodiments. The disclosure can be implemented through various combinations. The disclosure can have additional parts that can be added to the embodiments. The disclosure includes structures in which parts and / or elements of the embodiments are omitted. The disclosure includes the replacement or combination of parts and / or elements between one embodiment and other embodiments. The disclosed technical scope is not limited to the description of the embodiments. It should be understood that the disclosed technical scope should be understood to be expressed by the description of the claims, and also includes the meaning equivalent to the description of the claims and all variations within the scope.

[0089] In the above-described embodiment, the parking assist device is provided by the automatic driving ECU 100 that performs the driving operation of the host vehicle A instead of the driver. Instead, the parking assist device may be provided by a driving assist ECU that assists the driver's driving operation.

[0090] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the parking position determination unit 130 determines the parking position based on the grid search method. Instead, the parking position determination unit 130 may calculate the parking position where the size of the blind spot area Ab is within the allowable range through geometric analysis. In this case, the parking position determination unit 130 may set the minimum size of the blind spot area Ab or the size within the allowable range as the allowable condition.

[0091] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the parking control execution unit 140 assists the parking of the vehicle A by executing the driving control, braking control, and steering control for making the vehicle A autonomously drive to the parking position. Instead, the parking control execution unit 140 may assist the parking of the vehicle A to the parking position by the driver's manual driving. For example, the parking control execution unit 140 may assist the parking of the vehicle A by replacing the execution of a part of the above-mentioned controls during the driver's driving. Alternatively, the parking control execution unit 140 may assist the parking of the vehicle A by guiding the driver to the parking position by displaying the parking position on a display in the vehicle cabin, etc.

[0092] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 calculates the size of the blind spot area Ab, which is an area that cannot be detected from the external sensor 10. Instead, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 may calculate the size of the blind spot area Ab, which is an area that cannot be visually confirmed by the driver, when the driver performs vehicle departure. In this case, the blind spot area calculation unit 120 may obtain the size of the blind spot area Ab based on the identification information and the information related to the viewpoint position of the driver. The viewpoint position may be a preset position or may be detected by an indoor camera or the like.

[0093] The automatic driving ECU 100 may also be a dedicated computer including at least one of a digital circuit and an analog circuit as a processor. Here, in particular, the so-called digital circuit is, for example, at least one of an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a SOC (System on a Chip), a PGA (Programmable Gate Array), and a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device). In addition, such a digital circuit may also have a memory for storing a program.

[0094] The autonomous driving ECU 100 can be provided by a computer or a group of computer resources linked by a data communication device. For example, part of the functions provided by the autonomous driving ECU 100 in the above-mentioned embodiment can also be implemented by other ECUs or centers.

Claims

1. A parking assist device, comprising: a blind spot area calculation unit that calculates the size of the blind spot area from the host vehicle when the host vehicle has parked at a specific position in a parking space reserved for the host vehicle; a parking position determination unit that determines the specific position at which a predetermined condition related to the size of the blind spot area is satisfied as a parking position; and The parking assisting unit assists the host vehicle in parking the determined parking position.

2. The parking assist device according to claim 1, wherein: The parking position determination unit determines the specific position at which the size of the blind spot area is equal to or smaller than a permissible value as the parking position as the specific position at which the predetermined condition is satisfied.

3. The parking assist device according to claim 1, wherein: comprising an approaching direction estimating unit for estimating an approaching direction of another vehicle traveling on a road entered by the host vehicle leaving the parking space with respect to the host vehicle, The blind spot area calculation unit calculates a size of an approach direction area in the blind spot area located in the approach direction. The parking position determination unit determines the specific position at which the size of the approach direction area is equal to or smaller than a permissible value as the parking position as the specific position at which the predetermined condition is satisfied.

4. The parking assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: After the host vehicle is parked, if movement of another vehicle parked around the parking space is detected, the parking position determination unit re-determines the parking position for which the predetermined condition is satisfied. The parking assist unit assists movement to the newly determined parking position.

5. The parking assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The blind spot area calculation unit calculates the blind spot area based on information about another vehicle that is predicted to be parked around the parking space before a scheduled departure time when the host vehicle departs from the parking space.

6. The parking assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The blind spot area calculation unit calculates the blind spot area based on information on a recognizable area of ​​a reflective object that can recognize a real scene around the host vehicle by reflection.

7. A parking assistance method is a parking assistance method executed by a processor, comprising: a calculation step of calculating a size of a blind spot area from the vehicle when the vehicle has parked at a specific position in a parking space reserved for the vehicle; a determining step of determining the specific position at which a predetermined condition related to the size of the blind spot area is satisfied as a parking position; and The assisting step assists the vehicle in parking at the determined parking position.

8. The parking assistance method according to claim 7, wherein: In the determination step, the specific position where the size of the blind spot area is equal to or smaller than a permissible value is determined as the specific position where the predetermined condition is satisfied as the parking position.

9. The parking assistance method according to claim 7, wherein: The method further includes an approach direction estimation step of estimating an approach direction of another vehicle traveling on a road entered by the host vehicle leaving the parking space with respect to the host vehicle, In the calculation step, the size of the approach direction area in the blind spot area located in the approach direction is calculated. In the determination step, the specific position at which the size of the approach direction area is equal to or smaller than a permissible value is determined as the parking position as the specific position at which the predetermined condition is satisfied.

10. The parking assistance method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein: In the determination step, after the host vehicle is parked, if movement of other vehicles parked around the parking space is detected, the parking position for which the predetermined condition is satisfied is re-determined. In the assisting step, movement to the newly determined parking position is assisted.

11. The parking assistance method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein: In the calculation step, the blind spot area is calculated based on information on other vehicles that are predicted to be parked around the parking space before a scheduled departure time when the host vehicle departs from the parking space.

12. The parking assistance method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein: In the calculation step, the blind spot area is calculated based on information on a recognizable area of ​​a reflective object that can recognize a real scene around the host vehicle by reflection.

13. A storage medium storing a parking assistance program, wherein the parking assistance program includes a parking assistance program for causing a processor to execute instructions. The above command contains: a calculation step of calculating a size of a blind spot area from the vehicle when the vehicle has parked at a specific position in a parking space reserved for the vehicle; a determining step of determining the specific position at which a predetermined condition related to the size of the blind spot area is satisfied as a parking position; and The assisting step assists the vehicle in parking at the determined parking position.

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