Parking assistance device and parking assistance method

Abstract

This parking assistance device performs parking assistance on the basis of the route of a vehicle during teaching travel, and is provided with: a determination unit that determines whether or not the amount of operation by a driver during teaching travel of the vehicle exceeds a prescribed range; and an execution unit that executes a predetermined process when the operation amount exceeds a predetermined range.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a parking assistance device and a parking assistance method. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a parking assistance device that can park the vehicle in a specific parking space based on teaching driving. Such a parking assistance device stores the driving path of the vehicle when the driver parks the vehicle in the parking space as a teaching path, and automatically parks the vehicle in the parking space based on the teaching path (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-530867 Summary of the invention

[0006] Problem that the invention aims to solve

[0007] However, when automatic parking is performed based on the driver's operation during teaching driving, errors may occur in the path following during automatic parking. Therefore, in situations where accurate path following is required, such as in narrow parking spaces, automatic parking may fail, for example, when the distance to surrounding obstacles is shorter than the distance allowed by the system, causing the system to have to interrupt automatic parking.

[0008] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a parking assistance device and a parking assistance method that can suppress the occurrence of errors in path following in automatic parking.

[0009] Solutions to the problem

[0010] The parking assistance device disclosed herein performs parking assistance based on a path taught to a traveling vehicle, and includes:

[0011] a determination unit that determines whether an operation amount of a driver during teaching driving of the vehicle exceeds a prescribed range; and

[0012] The execution unit executes a predetermined process when the operation amount exceeds the predetermined range.

[0013] The parking assistance method disclosed in the present invention is a parking assistance method for performing parking assistance based on teaching a path of a moving vehicle, and includes the following steps:

[0014] Determining whether the driver's operation amount during the teaching driving of the vehicle exceeds a prescribed range; and

[0015] When the operation amount exceeds the prescribed range, a prescribed process is executed.

[0016] Effects of the Invention

[0017] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of errors in path following in automatic parking. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a vehicle to which the parking assistance device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing an example of a teaching travel route.

[0020] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a route when the taught driving route is reproduced by automatic parking.

[0021] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing a display example of the display unit before a predetermined process is executed.

[0022] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing a display example of the display unit after a predetermined process is executed.

[0023] Figure 6 1 is a flowchart showing an operation example of control during teaching travel in the parking assist device.

[0024] Figure 7 : is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a vehicle to which a parking assistance device according to a modified example is applied.

[0025] Figure 8 : is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a vehicle to which a parking assistance device according to a modified example is applied.

[0026] Fig. 9 : is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a vehicle to which a parking assistance device according to a modified example is applied. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] (Implementation Method)

[0028] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail based on the drawings. Figure 1 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a vehicle 1 to which the parking assistance device 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied.

[0029] like Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle 1 has an automatic parking assist function (referred to as “home-zone parking assist”) for automatically parking in a predetermined parking space, and includes an operation unit 10 , a detection unit 20 , a display unit 30 , and a parking assist device 100 .

[0030] The operation unit 10 includes a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, and the like for the driver to perform driving operations of the vehicle 1. The driving operations of the vehicle 1 are operations related to driving the vehicle 1, such as steering operations of the vehicle 1 and driving operations of the vehicle 1.

[0031] The detection unit 20 detects the amount of operation of the operation unit 10. The detection unit 20 may be, for example, a known sensor capable of detecting a steering angle, an accelerator opening, and the like.

[0032] The display unit 30 is, for example, a display unit of a car navigation device. The display unit 30 displays, for example, a predicted travel path line of the vehicle 1 when the driver is performing a teaching driving for automatic parking (see Figure 4 In addition, the display unit may be a display other than a car navigation device, such as a head-up display (including an augmented reality head-up display).

[0033] The parking assist device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an input / output circuit (not shown), and performs automatic parking control for automatically parking the vehicle in a predetermined parking space. Specifically, the parking assist device 100 stores the path of the vehicle when the vehicle is parked in the predetermined parking space by the driver's driving operation and the driver's operation on the operation unit 10 as teaching driving data. Then, when the vehicle 1 is parked in the predetermined parking space next time, the vehicle 1 performs automatic parking control (automatic parking control) based on the teaching driving data.

[0034] In this embodiment, the parking assist device 100 performs a predetermined process for making the driver realize that the amount of operation during the teaching driving is outside the operation range in which the automatic parking operation can be performed, in addition to the automatic parking control. The parking assist device 100 includes a determination unit 110 and an execution unit 120 .

[0035] The determination unit 110 determines whether the amount of operation by the driver during the teaching driving of the vehicle 1 exceeds a predetermined range. The amount of operation by the driver is, for example, a steering angle. The predetermined range is a range in which the automatic parking operation can be performed.

[0036] The range of the executable automatic parking operation refers to, for example, the range of the operation that enables the follow-up of the teaching travel route when the automatic parking is reproduced based on the operation of the operation unit 10 performed by the driver during the teaching travel.

[0037] For example, during teaching driving, the driver may park the vehicle in a parking space with the steering angle of the steering wheel (operating unit 10) close to the maximum angle. When the path during teaching driving and the operation of the operating unit 10 in this case are reproduced by automatic parking, the path of automatic parking (automatic parking path) may become a path that bulges out and expands relative to the teaching driving path because the path of teaching driving (teaching driving path) cannot be followed.

[0038] The following is a more specific description. Usually, the starting position of automatic parking is a position that deviates from the starting position of the teaching travel. Therefore, in order to reproduce the teaching travel path, the vehicle is controlled to eliminate the deviation, thereby following (reproducing) the teaching travel path to perform automatic parking.

[0039] However, if the steering angle during teaching driving is at a maximum angle, then in the area where the steering angle is at a maximum angle, even if one wants to align the vehicle with the teaching driving path from a deviated position, the steering device cannot be further turned and thus the vehicle cannot be aligned with the teaching driving path. Thus, the automatic parking path becomes a path that bulges out and expands relative to the teaching driving path.

[0040] For example, let there be Figure 2 The parking space shown can be entered by turning sideways in the Y direction from a road extending in the X direction.

[0041] It should be noted that Figure 2 In the description of the above, an orthogonal coordinate system (X, Y) is used. In the following figures, the same orthogonal coordinate system (X, Y) is also used. For example, the X direction represents the left-right direction, and the Y direction represents the front-back direction.

[0042] Assume that when the driver performs teaching driving with the steering angle of the operating unit 10 set to the maximum angle, the vehicle passes through a path along the shape of the road, that is, a path in which the vehicle moves toward the + side of the X direction and then moves toward the - side of the Y direction after turning relatively smoothly at the corner to enter the parking space (see arrow T).

[0043] However, if Figure 3 As shown, in some cases, the steering angle of the operating unit 10 is set to the maximum angle during the teaching travel, and the start position of the automatic parking is deviated from the start position of the teaching travel, so that during the automatic parking, the vehicle is parked in the parking space along a path having a trajectory that bulges toward the + side of the X direction at the corner portion (see arrow R). This is because the path of the teaching travel is a path achieved at the maximum steering angle, so if the start position deviates, the steering angle cannot be further increased, and the deviation cannot be corrected.

[0044] In this way, if there is a deviation in the starting position, a delay in steering control, or other errors in the path following in automatic parking, the automatic parking path may deviate significantly from the taught driving path. Therefore, in a situation where precise path following is required, for example, in a narrow parking space, the vehicle 1 is likely to collide with surrounding walls, and the automatic parking may fail.

[0045] In contrast, in this embodiment, the determination unit 110 determines that the driver's operation amount is outside the automatic parking executable operation range when the steering angle is greater than a predetermined angle. The predetermined angle can be appropriately set to, for example, 90% of the maximum steering angle.

[0046] The execution unit 120 executes a predetermined process for notifying the driver that the driver's operation amount is outside a predetermined range based on the determination result of the determination unit 110. That is, the execution unit 120 executes the predetermined process when the driver's operation amount exceeds the predetermined range. The predetermined process is, for example, a process for changing a predetermined display on the display unit 30 of the vehicle 1 from a display before the predetermined process is executed.

[0047] For example, Figure 4 As shown, when parking during teaching driving is performed, the predicted path line P of the vehicle 1 is displayed on the display unit 30 as a prescribed display. The predicted path line P is, for example, a path that the vehicle 1 will travel, predicted based on the current steering angle of the vehicle 1. In addition, the predicted path line P can be represented by the shape of a line representing the outer edge of the area where the vehicle 1 moves. As another example, the shape of the predicted path line P is not limited to a straight line, and can also be represented by the shape of a curve. In addition, as another example of a prescribed display, a prescribed color can also be superimposed on the area surrounded by the predicted path line P to display it as a predicted path area. In the case where the outer edge of the predicted path area is represented by the shape of a line, the predicted path area can also be displayed in a color different from the outer edge. By displaying the predicted path area in a color different from the outer edge, the predicted path area can be emphasized.

[0048] Examples of changes to the display from before the prescribed processing is executed include a change in the color of the predicted path line, a change in the line type, a change from a normal display to a flashing display, etc. Any change is acceptable as long as the driver can recognize that a change has occurred from the display before the prescribed processing is executed.

[0049] For example, Figure 5 As shown, when the steering angle of the operating unit 10 reaches the maximum angle during teaching driving, the Figure 4 Such a solid line display is changed to a predetermined process of a dotted line display.

[0050] This allows the driver to recognize that the current amount of operation of the operating unit 10 is outside the automatic parking executable operation range. As a result, the driver corrects the operation of the operating unit 10 during teaching driving, thereby preventing errors from occurring in the path following during automatic parking.

[0051] In addition, the predetermined processing may be processing such as displaying a warning notification, wherein the content displayed in the warning notification is, for example, guidance related to driving operation such as an instruction to reduce the steering angle, or a notification that the steering angle is too large so that automatic parking cannot be performed, etc. Such processing may be, for example, processing such as displaying text such as "Please reduce the steering angle" or "The steering angle is too large" on the display unit 30.

[0052] Furthermore, the determination unit 110 may change the range in which the automatic parking operation can be performed according to the speed of the vehicle 1 .

[0053] For example, during teaching driving, if the speed of the vehicle 1 is high, the driver will turn the steering wheel (steering device) quickly. Therefore, when the operation is repeated in automatic parking, the operation control of the operation unit 10 may not keep up, which may cause errors in path following.

[0054] In this case, for example, the determination unit 110 narrows the range in which the automatic parking operation can be performed and sets the determination threshold value of the steering angle to an angle smaller than the predetermined angle.

[0055] Thus, the predetermined process is executed before the steering angle becomes large, so that the driver can recognize that the operation amount is outside the automatic parking operation range at an early stage. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of errors in the path following in the automatic parking due to the speed of the vehicle 1 during the teaching travel.

[0056] Furthermore, after the execution unit 120 executes the predetermined process, if the driver does not correct the operation of the operation unit 10 or if the driver does not sufficiently correct the operation of the operation unit 10 , the execution unit 120 continues to execute the predetermined process.

[0057] This can prompt the driver to correct the operation of the operation unit 10. In this case, a process for prompting the driver to correct the operation (for example, a process for instructing the driver to reduce the steering angle) may be performed.

[0058] In addition, after the execution unit 120 executes the prescribed processing, when the teaching driving ends in a state where the driver has not corrected the operation of the operating unit 10, or when the teaching driving ends in a state where the driver has not sufficiently corrected the operation of the operating unit 10, the execution unit 120 may execute the processing of notifying the driver of the failure of the teaching driving.

[0059] The process of notifying the driver of the failure of teaching driving is, for example, a process of displaying the fact on the display unit 30 or a process of outputting the fact by sound in the case of a configuration including a sound output unit 40 described later.

[0060] In this case, the execution unit 120 may perform a process of notifying that the teaching travel needs to be performed again or confirming whether the teaching travel should be performed again.

[0061] Next, an operation example of the parking assistance device 100 will be described. Figure 6 1 is a flowchart showing an example of control operation during teaching travel in the parking assist device 100. For example, when teaching travel is started, Figure 6 in the processing.

[0062] like Figure 6 As shown, the parking assist device 100 determines whether the operation amount of the driver is outside the operation range (step S101). If the result of the determination is that the operation amount is not outside the operation range (step S101, No), the process proceeds to step S103.

[0063] On the other hand, when the operation amount is outside the operation range (step S101, Yes), the parking assisting device 100 executes a predetermined process (step S102). Next, the parking assisting device 100 determines whether the teaching travel has been completed (step S103).

[0064] If the result of determination is that the teaching travel has not yet been completed (step S103, No), the process returns to step S101. On the other hand, if the teaching travel has been completed (step S103, Yes), this control ends.

[0065] In the present embodiment configured as described above, a predetermined process is executed based on the result of the determination of whether the operation amount of the driver during the teaching driving is outside the operation range in which the automatic parking can be performed, so that the driver can recognize that the current operation amount of the operating unit 10 is outside the operation range in which the automatic parking can be performed. As a result, the driver corrects the operation of the operating unit 10 during the teaching driving, etc., and thus the occurrence of errors in the path following during the automatic parking can be suppressed.

[0066] Furthermore, this can prevent failure of automatic parking and the need for re-teaching driving when automatic parking is performed.

[0067] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the prescribed processing is processing related to the display unit 30, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Figure 7 In the case where the vehicle 1 includes the sound output unit 40 , the predetermined process may be a process of outputting a sound from the sound output unit 40 of the vehicle 1 .

[0068] The sound output unit 40 is, for example, a car-mounted device such as a car navigation device that can output sound.

[0069] Examples of processing for outputting sound include a process of using sound to warn of a situation in which the current driver's operation amount (steering angle) is large and the process of using sound to notify guidance to reduce the steering angle.

[0070] By processing based on sound, the driver can be made to auditorily recognize that the current operation amount of the operation unit 10 is outside the operation range in which automatic parking can be performed.

[0071] In addition, for example, in Figure 8 When the vehicle 1 includes the resistance applying unit 50 , the predetermined process may be a process of applying resistance to the driver's operation.

[0072] The resistance applying unit 50 applies a reaction force (resistance) to the steering device when the steering angle of the operating unit 10 (steering wheel) reaches or exceeds the predetermined angle. As the resistance applying unit 50 , a known technique can be used.

[0073] The process based on the resistance can make the driver tactilely recognize that the current operation amount of the operation unit 10 is outside the operation range in which automatic parking can be performed.

[0074] In addition, for example, in Fig. 9 When the vehicle 1 includes the vibration applying unit 60 , the predetermined process may be a process of applying vibration to the driver's operation.

[0075] The vibration applying unit 60 applies vibration to the steering device when the steering angle of the operation unit 10 (steering wheel) reaches or exceeds the predetermined angle. As the vibration applying unit 60 , a known technique can be used.

[0076] The processing using vibration can make the driver recognize tactilely that the current operation amount of the operation unit 10 is outside the operation range in which automatic parking can be performed.

[0077] In addition, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the prescribed processing is processing of one of the display unit 30, the sound output unit 40, the resistance applying unit 50, and the vibration applying unit 60, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and it can also be processing of a combination of two or more of the display unit 30, the sound output unit 40, the resistance applying unit 50, and the vibration applying unit 60.

[0078] In addition, in the above embodiment, the steering angle is exemplified as the driver's operation amount, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and for example, the operation amount may also be the speed of rotating the operation unit 10 (steering wheel). Specifically, for example, when the speed of rotating the operation unit 10 is greater than a predetermined threshold value (which can be set arbitrarily), the determination unit 110 determines that the driver's operation amount exceeds the predetermined range.

[0079] If the speed of the rotation operation unit 10 is high (or higher than a predetermined threshold), the control of the parking assistance device 100 may not be able to keep up during automatic parking, and errors may easily occur in the path following.

[0080] Therefore, as a predetermined process, a process is performed to notify the driver by voice or display that the operation unit 10 should be slowly turned, thereby allowing the driver to recognize that the current operation amount of the operation unit 10 is outside the operation range in which automatic parking can be performed.

[0081] In addition, the driver's operation amount may be, for example, the speed of the vehicle 1 based on the operating unit 10 (accelerator pedal). Specifically, for example, when the speed of the vehicle 1 based on the operating unit 10 is above a predetermined speed (which can be set arbitrarily), the determination unit 110 determines that the driver's operation amount exceeds the predetermined range.

[0082] For example, if the speed of the vehicle 1 during teaching travel is high (or higher than a predetermined speed), the driver's steering wheel operation speed will increase accordingly, and there is a possibility that steering wheel operation control delay may occur during automatic parking, resulting in path following delay.

[0083] In this case, as a predetermined process, the driver is notified by voice or display that the speed of the vehicle 1 is to be reduced, thereby allowing the driver to recognize that the current operation amount of the operating unit 10 is outside the operation range in which automatic parking can be performed.

[0084] In addition, during teaching driving, the driver may turn the steering device (steering wheel) when the vehicle 1 is stopped (the speed of the vehicle 1 is 0). In this case, when the steering wheel operation is controlled while the vehicle 1 is moving during automatic parking, the relationship between the steering wheel operation and the speed of the vehicle 1 during teaching driving and automatic parking differs, which may cause deviation in path following.

[0085] In this case, as a predetermined process, the following process is performed, that is, the driver is notified by voice or display that the steering operation is to be performed while the vehicle 1 is moving, thereby allowing the driver to recognize that the current operation amount of the operating unit 10 is outside the operation range in which automatic parking can be performed.

[0086] In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples of specific implementations of the present disclosure, and the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by these embodiments. That is, the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist or main features thereof.

[0087] The disclosure contents of the specification, drawings, and abstract contained in Japanese patent application No. 2022-087744 filed on May 30, 2022 are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0088] Industrial Applicability

[0089] The parking assistance device of the present disclosure is useful as a parking assistance device and a parking assistance method that can suppress the occurrence of errors in path following in automatic parking.

[0090] Description of Reference Numerals

[0091] 1 Vehicle

[0092] 10 Operation section

[0093] 20. Inspection Department

[0094] 30 Display unit

[0095] 40 Sound output unit

[0096] 50 resistance applying part

[0097] 60 vibration applying part

[0098] 100 Parking aid

[0099] 110 Judgment Department

[0100] 120 Executive Department

Claims

1. A parking assistance device for assisting a vehicle in parking based on a path taught by a vehicle in motion, the parking assistance device comprising: a determination unit that determines whether an operation amount of a driver during teaching driving of the vehicle exceeds a prescribed range; and The execution unit executes a predetermined process when the operation amount exceeds the predetermined range.

2. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: The predetermined process is a process for notifying the driver that the operation amount is outside the predetermined range.

3. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: The operation amount is the steering angle, The determination unit determines that the operation amount exceeds the predetermined range when the steering angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle.

4. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: The predetermined process is a process of applying resistance to the operation of the driver.

5. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: The predetermined process is a process of changing a predetermined display on a display device of the vehicle from a display before the predetermined process is executed.

6. The parking assistance device according to claim 5, wherein: The prescribed display is a predicted travel path line of the vehicle.

7. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: The predetermined process is a process of outputting a sound from a sound output device of the vehicle.

8. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: The determination unit changes a range of the operation of the vehicle performed by the driver according to the teaching traveling speed.

9. A parking assistance method, which is a parking assistance method for performing parking assistance based on teaching a path of a moving vehicle, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Determine whether the driver's operation amount during the vehicle's teaching driving exceeds the prescribed range; as well as When the operation amount exceeds the prescribed range, a prescribed process is executed.

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