Parking assistance device and parking assistance method

Abstract

The invention relates to a parking assistance device and a parking assistance method, which can reduce the burden of a driver before automatic parking. The parking assist uses the surroundings of the vehicle to determine whether the position of the vehicle is within a portion of the detected parking space. When a parking assist device determines that the vehicle is located in a portion of a parking space, the parking assist device selects the detected parking space as the parking space of the vehicle, and performs parking control of the vehicle such that the vehicle is suitable for the selected parking space.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Generally speaking, the automatic parking function detects candidate vacant parking spaces based on the surrounding conditions of the vehicle (e.g., conditions recognized according to information from a camera, sonar, etc.), and when the driver (or passenger) selects a parking space from the candidate vacant parking spaces, automatic parking in the selected parking space begins. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for selecting one of a plurality of candidate parking spaces, in which a parking space closest to the vehicle is selected.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: WO2017 / 104164 Summary of the invention

[0006] Problems to be solved by the present invention

[0007] A candidate parking space as a destination of automatic parking is detected based on the surrounding conditions of the vehicle. Therefore, in order to use the detected parking space as a destination of automatic parking, the driver should visually confirm that the parking space is an empty parking space and specify to the vehicle-mounted device that the parking space will be used as a destination of parking.

[0008] However, it is a burden for the driver to monitor whether an available parking space has been detected while viewing the display of the on-board device and to instruct the on-board device in which of the detected available parking spaces the driver is parked.

[0009] The object of the present invention is to relieve the driver's burden before automatic parking.

[0010] Means of solving the problem

[0011] The parking assist device uses the surrounding conditions of the vehicle to determine whether the position of the vehicle is within a portion of the detected parking space. When the parking assist device determines that the vehicle is located in a portion of the parking space, the parking assist device selects the detected parking space as the parking space for the vehicle and performs parking control of the vehicle so that the vehicle fits into the selected parking space.

[0012] Effects of the Invention

[0013] The present invention can reduce the burden on the driver before automatic parking. The following description of the embodiments will clarify problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a parking assistance device according to an embodiment;

[0015] Figure 2 It is a flow chart of the parking aid;

[0016] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of parking assistance according to an embodiment;

[0017] Figure 4 is a diagram depicting an example of a transition between a vehicle position and a screen;

[0018] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram depicting an overview of acquiring surrounding conditions and detecting a parking space;

[0019] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of an example of parking space selection;

[0020] Figure 7 is a diagram depicting an example of a screen for accepting a change of a parking space;

[0021] Fig. 8A depicts an example of rough parking in a parking space; and

[0022] Figure 8B Depicted in Fig. 8A An example of parking control after rough parking is depicted in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, when the same type of elements are described without distinction, common symbols may be used in reference symbols, and reference numerals may be used to distinguish the same type of elements.

[0024] Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a parking assistance device according to an embodiment.

[0025] The parking assist device 100 is mounted on the vehicle 50 and includes an interface device 101 , a storage device 102 , and a processor 103 connected thereto.

[0026] The interface device 101 is an interface for various devices provided in the vehicle 50. For example, the interface device 101 is connected to the sonar 121, the camera group 122 (one or more cameras), the operation device 123 (usually a steering wheel), the drive device 124 (powertrain), the brake control device 125 (usually a brake), the touch panel 131, and the operation button group 132 (one or more operation buttons) in the vehicle 50. The sonar 121 and the camera group 122 are examples of sensors for detecting the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 50. The touch panel 131 and the operation button group 132 are examples of user interface (UI) devices, such as a display device and an input device, respectively. The operation button 132 may not be provided, and all operations may be performed using the touch panel 131. In addition, a display device other than the touch panel 131 may be used, and input may be performed via the operation button group 132 or other UI devices.

[0027] The storage device 102 includes at least one of a memory and a persistent storage device. The memory may be a volatile or nonvolatile memory. The persistent storage device may be a nonvolatile storage device (e.g., a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD)). The storage device 102 stores computer programs and data. For example, information representing a camera lens, sonar detection information, and information representing a parking path, which will be described later, are stored in the storage device 102.

[0028] The processor 106 may be one or more processing devices, at least one of which may be a microprocessing device such as a central processing unit (CPU), but may also be another type of processing device such as a graphics processing unit (GPU). At least one processing device may be a single core or a multi-core, and may also be a processor core. At least one processing device may be a processing device in a broad sense, such as a hardware circuit (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) that performs a part or all of the processing. Functions such as the surrounding situation acquisition unit 151, the parking space detection unit 152, the position determination unit 153, the parking space selection unit 154, the mode management unit 155, the parking control unit 156, and the UI control unit 157 may be implemented by the processor 106 executing a computer program. Functions 151 to 157 are examples, and a plurality of functions may be combined into one function, or one function may be divided into a plurality of functions.

[0029] The surrounding situation acquisition unit 151 acquires the surrounding situation around the vehicle 50. Specifically, the surrounding situation acquisition unit 151 recognizes the surrounding situation of the vehicle 50 based on information from the sonar 121 and the camera group 122.

[0030] The parking space detection unit 152 uses the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 50 (the conditions acquired by the surrounding condition acquisition unit 151) to detect a parking space in which the vehicle 50 can be parked. It should be noted that a "parking space" may be a space with typical boundaries, or a space without boundaries but large enough for the vehicle 50 to be parked.

[0031] The position determination unit 153 determines whether the position of the vehicle 50 is located within a portion of the parking space detected by the parking space detection unit 152 .

[0032] If the position determination unit 153 determines that the vehicle 50 is located in a part of the parking space, the parking space selection unit 154 selects the parking space detected by the parking space detection unit 152 as the parking space for the vehicle 50 .

[0033] The mode management unit 155 manages the mode of the vehicle 50. For example, the mode includes a parking assist mode and a driving mode. The driving mode includes a manual mode (a mode for performing manual driving) and an automatic mode (a mode for performing automatic driving). For example, the mode management unit 155 switches the driving mode of the vehicle 50 from the manual mode to the automatic mode, or switches the driving mode of the vehicle 50 from the automatic mode to the manual mode.

[0034] The parking control unit 156 performs parking control of the vehicle 50 so that the vehicle 50 fits into the parking space selected by the parking space selection unit 154. Specifically, for example, the parking control unit 156 generates a parking path so that the vehicle 50 fits into the parking space, and performs drive control of the vehicle 50 (control of the operating device 123, the drive device 124, and the brake control device 125) along the parking path.

[0035] The UI control unit 157 displays information on the touch panel 131, and performs control in response to input from the touch panel 131 and the operation button group 132. For example, the UI control unit 157 displays a camera image and sonar detection information on the touch panel 131, and during automatic parking, displays a created parking path on the touch panel 131 by superimposing the path on the camera image.

[0036] Figure 2 It is a flow chart of the parking assist device.

[0037] The mode management unit 155 determines whether the parking assist mode is on (S201). The parking assist mode may be turned on when one of the following occurs. The mode management unit 155 is configured to turn on the parking assist mode when any of the following triggers is detected.

[0038] The parking assist mode is manually turned on. Specifically, the parking assist mode is designated to be turned on via a UI device such as the touch panel 131 or the operation button group 132 .

[0039] The parking assistance condition acquired by the surrounding situation acquisition unit 151 satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0040] The "parking assistance condition" is a condition under which the parking assistance mode is automatically turned on. Examples of the parking assistance condition include the current position of the vehicle 50 in the parking lot, or a plurality of parameter values ​​such as the speed of the vehicle 50 and the acquired surrounding conditions, which are parameter values ​​corresponding to the situation in which a parking space is being searched.

[0041] If the parking assist mode is on ( S201 : YES), the parking space detection unit 152 determines whether there is an available parking space in which the vehicle 50 can be parked using the surrounding conditions acquired by the surrounding conditions acquisition unit 151 ( S202 ).

[0042] If the parking space detection unit 152 detects a parking space ( S202 : YES), the position determination unit 153 determines whether the current position of the vehicle 50 is located in a part of the detected parking space ( S203 ).

[0043] If the position determination unit 153 determines that the vehicle 50 is located in a part of the parking space ( S203 : YES), the parking space selection unit 154 determines whether the vehicle 50 is located in a plurality of parking spaces ( S204 ).

[0044] If there is a parking space in which the vehicle 50 is located ( S204 : No), the parking space selection unit 154 selects the parking space ( S205 ).

[0045] On the other hand, if there are a plurality of parking spaces in which the vehicle 50 is located (S204: YES), the parking space selection unit 154 selects a parking space for the vehicle 50 from the plurality of parking spaces using the directions in which the vehicle 50 enters the plurality of parking spaces and the relative positional relationship between the plurality of parking spaces and the vehicle 50 (S206).

[0046] When a parking space is selected in S205 or S206, the mode management unit 155 switches the driving mode from the manual mode to the automatic mode (S207). Thereafter, the parking control unit 156 generates a parking path so that the vehicle 50 fits into the parking space selected in S205 or S206 (S208), and automatically parks the vehicle 50 along the parking path (S209). Note that the switch from the manual mode to the automatic mode may be performed between S203: Yes and S205 or S206, rather than after S205 or S206. In other words, the switch from the manual mode to the automatic mode may be performed at any point between S203: Yes and S209.

[0047] Using the parking assistance in the process of executing S205, such as Figure 3 As illustrated, for both perpendicular parking and parallel parking, the burden on the driver before automatic parking is very small. Specifically, in the manual mode, the driver roughly parks the vehicle 50 in the parking space 301, and determines the parking space as the parking destination (S203: Yes and S205). Thereafter, the driving mode is switched from the manual mode to the automatic mode (S207), and in the automatic mode, the vehicle 50 automatically parks in the confirmed parking space 301 (S208 and S209). Therefore, the driver only needs to place at least a portion of the vehicle 50 in the desired vacant parking space 301 confirmed as the parking destination to start automatic parking, and the driver does not need to monitor whether the vacant parking space 301 has been detected or specify in which of the detected vacant parking spaces to park. In other words, the burden on the driver before automatic parking can be reduced. For example, if a parking space becomes available because another vehicle in front of the driver has moved away, the driver may roughly park the vehicle in the space, allowing the vehicle to quickly and automatically park in the space.

[0048] Note that “rough parking” means that at least a portion of the vehicle 50 is parked in the parking space 301, and the position of the vehicle 50 relative to the parking space 301 is not necessarily appropriate. Even if the position of the vehicle 50 relative to the parking space 301 is inappropriate, after the parking space is determined, the vehicle 50 will be correctly parked in the parking space 301 by automatic parking.

[0049] The storage device 102 may also store vehicle size information that is information indicating the size of the vehicle 50 (e.g., total length, total width, and total height). The parking space detection unit 152 estimates the size of the vacant parking space 301 (e.g., length and width (and height if there is a height restriction, such as for the roof)) based on the camera lens of the vacant parking space 301 (or other information), and if the estimated size is larger than the size of the vehicle 50 (the size indicated by the vehicle size information), the vacant parking space 301 may be detected as a potential parking destination. In other words, in the present embodiment, the “parking space” may be a space large enough to accommodate the vehicle 50. The parking space 301 may or may not have an object (e.g., a line) that defines the range of the parking space 301.

[0050] Furthermore, for both parallel parking and perpendicular parking, the parking space selection unit 154 may determine the approach direction of the vehicle 50 into the vacant parking space 301 (the approach direction for rough parking) using the surrounding conditions acquired by the surrounding conditions acquisition unit 151. During automatic parking, the parking control unit 156 determines whether to park from the front or rear of the vehicle 50 according to the identified approach direction, and may enter the vehicle 50 according to the determined side into the parking space 301 selected by the parking space selection unit 154. Since the approach direction during rough parking is determined by the driver's intention, it is expected that automatic parking will also park according to the driver's intention.

[0051] In addition, the UI control unit 157 may display the progress of the parking assistance on the touch panel 131. Figure 4 An example of transition of the screen displayed on the touch panel 131 is depicted in FIG. Figure 4 The upper side of the depicts the transition of parking 50, and Figure 4 The lower side of depicts the transition of the display of the touch panel 131. In the manual mode after the parking assist mode is turned on (S201: Yes to S202: No), the driver roughly parks the vehicle 50 in the desired parking space (S203: Yes) to confirm the parking position. In this case, the driving mode is switched from the manual mode to the automatic mode, and automatic parking is started. The UI control unit 157 displays the traveling direction side ( Figure 4 The screen 401 of the camera image of the vehicle 50 (the rear side in the depicted example) and the screen 402 of the aerial image above the vehicle 50. Thereafter, the images on the screens 401 and 402 correspond to the progress of the automatic parking (particularly S209). The image may be overlaid with an object (e.g., an arrow) representing the parking path.

[0052] References Figure 5 and Figure 6 An example of a case where a plurality of parking spaces 301 are detected ( S204 : YES) is described.

[0053] For example, Figure 5As depicted, when the parking assist mode is turned on and the vehicle 50 moves forward, the parking space detection unit 152 analyzes the camera images of the front camera and the left and right cameras in the camera group 122 (camera images acquired by the surrounding situation acquisition unit 151) to detect the vacant parking spaces 301A, 301B, and 301P (symbol 500F represents the field of view of the front camera, and symbols 500L and 500R represent the fields of view of the left and right cameras). Specifically, for example, the detected vacant parking spaces 301A, 301B, and 301P are parking frames formed by solid lines or virtual lines, and the parking space detection unit 152 stores information indicating the positions of the vacant parking spaces 301A, 301B, and 301P on the space map as the parking frames in the memory device 102. On the left side of the vehicle 50 in the traveling direction, the vacant parking spaces 301A and 301B are adjacent to each other.

[0054] At least at the beginning of rough parking, the driving mode is manual mode. In manual mode, it is assumed that the driver roughly parks the vehicle 50, such as Figure 6 As depicted. Therefore, the position determination unit 153 determines that the position of the vehicle 50 is located in a part of the parking spaces 301A and 301B. In this case (S204: Yes), the parking space selection unit 154 selects a parking space for the vehicle 50 from the plurality of parking spaces (parking slots) 301A and 301B using the entry direction of the vehicle 50 into the plurality of parking spaces (parking slots) 301A and 301B and the relative positional relationship between the plurality of parking spaces 301A and 301B and the vehicle 50 (S206). The “relative positional relationship” is, for example, at least one of the following (a) to (c).

[0055] (a) For each of the plurality of parking spaces 301A and 301B, the distance between a reference position of the parking space 301 in the top view and a reference position of the vehicle 50 in the top view.

[0056] (b) For each parking space in the plurality of parking spaces 301A and 301B, a parking path from the determined position of the vehicle 50 to a position of the vehicle 50 that fits into the parking space 301A.

[0057] (c) A parking space 301 located closest to the front end or rear end of the vehicle 50 in the direction in which the vehicle 50 enters, among the plurality of parking spaces 301A and 301B in a plan view.

[0058] Figure 6, an example of (a) is depicted in FIG. In other words, the parking space selection unit 154 identifies the center positions 31A and 31B of the parking spaces 301A and 301B. The center position 31 of the parking space 301 (parking slot) is the intersection of the diagonal lines. The parking space selection unit 154 calculates the distance between the center position 31 of the parking space 301 and the center position 51 of the vehicle 50. The center position 51 of the vehicle 50 may be the center position of the rear axle of the vehicle 50. The parking space selection unit 154 selects the parking space 301B having the shortest calculated distance. The center position 31 is an example of a reference position of the parking space 301, and the center position 51 is an example of a reference position of the vehicle 50. The reference position of the parking space 301 may be a position (e.g., any vertex) in the parking space 301 that satisfies a predetermined condition. When viewed from above the vehicle 50, the reference position of the vehicle 50 may be a position that satisfies the predetermined condition. Depending on the direction in which the vehicle 50 enters the parking spaces 301A and 301B due to rough parking, a parking space having a relatively long distance between the center positions 31 and 51 may be selected.

[0059] In example (b), the parking space selection unit 154 may determine, for each of the plurality of parking spaces 301A and 301B, a parking route from the determined position of the vehicle 50 to the parking space 301 suitable for the vehicle 50, and select the parking space 301 having the shortest parking path. In addition, according to the direction in which the vehicle 50 enters the parking spaces 301A and 301B due to rough parking, a parking space having a relatively long parking path may be selected.

[0060] In example (c), the parking space selection unit 154 may determine which parking space 301 of the plurality of parking spaces 301A and 301B is closest to the front end or rear end of the vehicle 50 in the approach direction of the vehicle 50 when viewed from above, and select the identified parking space 301. Figure 6 In (c) of FIG. 1 , when viewed from above, the vehicle 50 is traveling forward and the front end of the vehicle is located in the parking space 301A, so the parking space 301A may be selected as the parking destination. Depending on the direction in which the vehicle 50 enters the parking spaces 301A and 301B for rough parking (for example, when the vehicle 50 is automatically parked from the opposite direction to the traveling direction during rough parking), the parking space 301B in which the front end of the vehicle is not located when viewed from above may be selected as the parking destination.

[0061] In this way, the traveling direction during rough parking, which is one of the factors for determining the parking path of automatic parking, is also used as one of the factors for determining which parking space 301 is selected from the plurality of parking spaces 301A and 301B. In other words, information for determining the parking path of automatic parking can also be used to determine which parking space 301 is selected.

[0062] like Figure 7 As depicted, when a parking space 301 is selected as a parking destination from among a plurality of parking spaces 301A and 301B in which a portion of the vehicle 50 is determined to be located, the UI control unit 157 may display a change acceptance screen on the touch panel 131, which is a screen (typically a GUI) that accepts a change to the parking space 301 as the parking destination. Figure 7 In the depicted example, the parking space displayed in halftone dots is a parking space that has already been selected as a parking destination, and the parking space displayed in white is a parking space that can be manually selected as a new parking destination. When the UI control unit 157 accepts the manual selection of the parking space as the changed parking destination, the parking control unit 156 may create a parking path with the manually selected parking space as the parking destination, and start automatic parking along the parking path. Note that when the manual selection has not been accepted via the displayed change acceptance screen, the automatic parking may continue with the previously automatically selected parking space as the parking destination. When the parking control unit 156 detects that the automatic parking has been completely or substantially completed (for example, when the parking control unit 156 detects that a predetermined percentage or more of the vehicle 50 has entered the parking space), the UI control unit 157 may hide (or reduce) the change acceptance screen and display another screen on the touch panel 131.

[0063] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and includes various modified examples. For example, although the above embodiment has been described in detail in order to describe the present invention in an easily understandable manner, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the configuration having the above configuration. In addition, not only such a configuration can be deleted, but also a configuration can be replaced or added.

[0064] For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, an example of the parking assisting device 100 mounted on the vehicle 50 is described, but the present invention is not limited to the parking assisting device as a vehicle-mounted device. For example, some functions of the parking assisting device 100 may be provided in a device outside the vehicle 50 (e.g., a server device on a communication network) that can communicate with the vehicle-mounted device. In this case, the parking assisting device 100 may be a device composed of the vehicle-mounted device and the device outside the vehicle 50.

[0065] In addition, for example, Fig. 8AAs depicted, even if there are a plurality of parking spaces 301C and 301D in which a portion of the vehicle 50 is determined to be located, if the parking space detection unit 152 detects using the acquired surrounding conditions that at least one of the parking spaces 301C and 301D has an adjacent vacant parking space 301E in the traveling direction of the vehicle 50 (and further, if the UI control unit 157 receives an operation to continue the manual mode), the mode management unit 155 may continue the manual mode. This allows the driver to manually park the vehicle 50 in the parking space 301E, as shown in FIG. Figure 8B Depicted.

[0066] In addition, for example, in Figure 2 In S207 of the present invention, the driving mode is switched from the manual mode to the automatic mode, and then in S208, the parking control unit 156 generates a parking path, but the timing of generating the parking path is not limited to this case. In the case where the mode management unit 155 does not switch the driving mode from the manual mode to the automatic mode (in other words, regardless of whether the driving mode is the manual mode or the automatic mode), the parking control unit 156 may calculate the parking path in real time (for example, after S201: Yes, S202: Yes, or S203: Yes, each time the position, orientation, speed, or traveling direction of the vehicle 50 changes by a certain amount, calculate the parking path), and display the calculated parking path on the touch panel 131 (an example of a display device). By performing this process, when the parking assist mode is turned on, the parking path is always displayed on the touch panel 131 after a certain time point, making it easier for the driver to understand the parking path. In this example, when the driving mode is switched from the manual mode to the automatic mode, automatic parking can be performed along the most recently calculated parking path.

[0067] Description of Reference Numerals

[0068] 50: vehicle, 100: parking assistance device, 151: surrounding situation acquisition unit, 152: parking space detection unit, 153: position determination unit, 154: parking space selection unit, 156: parking control unit

Claims

1. A parking assistance device, comprising: A surrounding situation acquisition unit, wherein the surrounding situation acquisition unit acquires the situation around the vehicle; a parking space detection unit that detects a parking space in which the vehicle can be parked based on the situation around the vehicle; a position determination unit that determines whether the position of the vehicle is located within a portion of the detected parking space; a parking space selection unit that selects the parking space detected by the parking space detection unit as a parking space for the vehicle when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is located in a part of the parking space; as well as A parking control unit performs parking control of the vehicle so that the vehicle fits into the parking space selected by the parking space selection unit.

2. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising: a mode management unit, which switches a driving mode of the vehicle from a manual mode to an automatic mode when a parking space is selected by the parking space selection unit; in, When the driving mode is the manual mode, manually driving the vehicle to be positioned in a portion of the detected parking space; and The parking control is performed as an automatic drive performed by the parking control unit.

3. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein The parking space selection unit selects a parking space for the vehicle from among the plurality of parking spaces using an approach direction of the vehicle into the plurality of parking spaces and a relative positional relationship between the plurality of parking spaces and the vehicle when there are a plurality of parking spaces in which a portion of the vehicle is determined to be located.

4. The parking assistance device according to claim 3, wherein The relative positional relationship is at least one of the following (a) to (c): (a) for each parking space in the plurality of parking spaces, a distance between a reference position of the parking space in the top view and a reference position of the vehicle in the top view; (b) for each parking space of the plurality of parking spaces, a parking path from the determined position of the vehicle to the parking space; (c) Whether an end of the vehicle on the entry direction side of the front end or rear end of the vehicle is located in one of the plurality of parking spaces when viewed from above.

5. The parking assistance device according to claim 3, wherein the parking space selection unit identifying an entry direction of the vehicle into the selected parking space selected by the parking space selection unit using the situation acquired by the surrounding situation acquisition unit; and During parking control, the parking control unit determines whether to park the vehicle from the front side or the rear side based on the entry direction specified by the parking space selection unit and used as a basis for selecting the parking space, and places the vehicle in the parking space selected by the parking space selection unit based on the determined side.

6. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the parking space selection unit identifying an entry direction of the vehicle into the parking space selected by the parking space selection unit using the situation acquired by the surrounding situation acquisition unit; and During parking control, the parking control unit determines whether the vehicle is parked from the front side or the rear side of the vehicle based on the identified entry direction, and places the vehicle in the parking space selected by the parking space selection unit according to the determined side.

7. A parking assistance method, the parking assistance method causing a computer to execute the following steps: Obtain the surrounding conditions of the vehicle; detecting a parking space in which the vehicle can be parked using the surrounding conditions of the vehicle; determining whether the position of the vehicle is within a portion of a detected parking space; If it is determined that the vehicle is located in a portion of the parking space, selecting the detected parking space as a parking space for the vehicle; as well as Parking control of the vehicle is performed so that the vehicle fits into the selected parking space.

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