Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a technique for parking a vehicle at a target position in a target attitude by simple control. This vehicle control device is provided with: an input unit for inputting a detection result of a sensing sensor that is mounted on a vehicle and detects a wall located around the vehicle; and a processing unit that executes automatic parking control in which the vehicle is parked at a parking position having a predetermined positional relationship with the wall using the detection result of the measurement sensor. In the automatic parking control, the processing unit performs: a process for causing the vehicle to travel such that the center of the rear wheel of the vehicle overlaps a reference line having a preset positional relationship with the wall, using the detection result of the domain sensor; rotating the vehicle with the center of the rear wheel as the center such that the front and rear axes of the vehicle are parallel to the reference line while maintaining the center of the rear wheel overlapping the reference line; the vehicle is driven to a parking position while the front and rear axes of the vehicle are kept parallel to the reference line.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method. Background Technology

[0002] There is a known unmanned transport vehicle that uses sensors that detect the distance to objects and a 3D map to estimate its own position while moving (e.g., Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-084219 Summary of the Invention

[0004] Preparing 3D maps requires significant effort and expense. Therefore, a technology is desired that allows vehicles to stop at a target position in a desired orientation through simple control without using 3D maps.

[0005] The present invention can be implemented in the following ways.

[0006] (1) According to a first aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control device is provided. The control device includes: an input unit for inputting the detection result of a field sensor mounted on the vehicle and detecting a wall located around the vehicle; and a processing unit for performing automatic parking control, wherein the detection result of the field sensor is used to stop the vehicle at a parking position having a predetermined positional relationship with the wall.

[0007] The processing unit performs the following processing in the automatic parking control: using the detection results of the measuring range sensor, the vehicle is driven with the rear wheel center overlapping the baseline, the baseline and the wall having a preset positional relationship; while maintaining the rear wheel center overlapping the baseline, the vehicle is rotated around the rear wheel center with the front and rear axles parallel to the baseline; while maintaining the front and rear axles parallel to the baseline, the vehicle is driven to the parking position.

[0008] According to the control device of this method, the vehicle can be stopped at the target position in the target posture through simple control.

[0009] (2) In the control device of the above method, the measuring field sensor may include: a forward measuring field sensor that detects the wall located in front of the vehicle; and a lateral measuring field sensor that detects the wall located on the side of the vehicle. The processing unit may use the detection result of the forward measuring field sensor to control the position and attitude of the vehicle in the automatic parking control before the wall is detected by the lateral measuring field sensor.

[0010] According to this control device, even when the vehicle is in a location where it cannot pass through the detection wall of the lateral field sensor, the detection results of the forward field sensor can be used to appropriately control the position and attitude of the vehicle.

[0011] (3) In the control device described above, the processing unit can use the detection results of the lateral field sensor to control the position and attitude of the vehicle when the vehicle is turned around with the center of the rear wheel as the center in the automatic parking control.

[0012] According to this control device, when the vehicle is turning around with the rear wheel center as the center, the detection results of the lateral field sensor can be used to control the vehicle's attitude with high precision.

[0013] (4) In the control device of the above manner, the vehicle may include: front wheels, which are symmetrically arranged about the front and rear axles of the vehicle and can be controlled to have a steering angle of 90 degrees relative to the front and rear axles of the vehicle; and rear wheels, which are arranged on the front and rear axles of the vehicle. The processing unit may, in the automatic parking control, control the steering angle of the front wheels to be 90 degrees relative to the front and rear axles of the vehicle when the vehicle is turned around about the center of the rear wheels.

[0014] According to this control device, the vehicle can be turned around with the rear wheel center as the center without changing the position of the rear wheel center.

[0015] (5) According to a second aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control method is provided. The control method includes the following steps: using the detection result of a field sensor mounted on the vehicle and detecting a wall located around the vehicle, driving the vehicle with the rear wheel center overlapping a reference line, the reference line having a predetermined positional relationship with the wall; while maintaining the rear wheel center overlapping the reference line, rotating the vehicle around the rear wheel center with the front and rear axles parallel to the reference line; while maintaining the front and rear axles parallel to the reference line, driving the vehicle to a parking position having a predetermined positional relationship with the wall.

[0016] According to this control method, the vehicle can be stopped at the target position in the target posture through simple control.

[0017] This invention can also be implemented in various ways other than vehicle control devices and vehicle control methods. It can be implemented using vehicles, computer programs, and recording media containing computer programs, etc. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 It is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of a vehicle.

[0019] Figure 2 This is an explanatory diagram showing the state of a vehicle moving within a garage.

[0020] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the steps involved in the vehicle position estimation method.

[0021] Figure 4 This is the first explanatory diagram illustrating the method for estimating the vehicle's position.

[0022] Figure 5 This is the second explanatory diagram illustrating the method for estimating the vehicle's position.

[0023] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the processing steps of automatic parking control.

[0024] Figure 7 This is the first explanatory diagram showing the state of automatic parking control.

[0025] Figure 8 This is the second explanatory diagram showing the state of automatic parking control. Detailed Implementation

[0026] A. Implementation Method 1:

[0027] Figure 1 This is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the vehicle 100 equipped with the control device 150 in the first embodiment. Figure 2 This is an explanatory diagram showing the state of vehicle 100 moving within garage 200. Figure 1 The vehicle 100 shown is configured to autonomously drive while estimating its own position and attitude. Vehicle 100 is used, for example, in an automobile manufacturing plant to transport vehicles (VH). Vehicle 100 includes two range sensors 110F and 110S, a vehicle speed sensor 120, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver 130, an actuator assembly 140, and a control unit 150. Alternatively, vehicle 100 may not include the GNSS receiver 130.

[0028] The first measuring sensor 110F is fixed to the front surface of the vehicle 100, facing forward. The second measuring sensor 110S is fixed to the side of the vehicle 100, facing to the side. More specifically, the second measuring sensor 110S is fixed to the left side of the vehicle 100, so that the vehicle 100 faces left. In the following description, the first measuring sensor 110F mounted on the vehicle 100 is referred to as the forward measuring sensor 110F, and the second measuring sensor 110S mounted on the vehicle 100 is referred to as the lateral measuring sensor 110S. Unless otherwise specified in the description, the forward measuring sensor 110F and the lateral measuring sensor 110S are simply referred to as measuring sensor 110. The forward measuring sensor 110F scans the front of the vehicle 100 and detects objects located in front of the vehicle 100. The lateral measuring sensor 110S scans the left side of the vehicle 100 and detects objects located to the left of the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the domain sensor 110 is a two-dimensional LiDAR. The domain sensor 110 scans a 180-degree range in 0.25-degree increments. The domain sensor 110 outputs two-dimensional distance information as the detection result. The two-dimensional distance information contains multiple pairs of angles and distances. The angles and distances contained in the two-dimensional distance information represent the azimuth angle of the detection point on the object observed from the domain sensor 110 and the distance from the domain sensor 110 to the detection point on the object.

[0029] Vehicle speed sensor 120 detects vehicle speed, i.e., the speed of vehicle 100. Vehicle speed sensor 120 may, for example, be a wheel speed sensor that detects vehicle speed based on the rotational speed of the wheels and the size of the wheels.

[0030] The GNSS receiver 130 uses signals transmitted from GNSS satellites to detect the current position of the vehicle 100. For example, a GPS receiver can be used in the GNSS receiver 130.

[0031] The actuator assembly 140 includes an actuator for a drive device that generates propulsive force on the vehicle 100, an actuator for a steering device that changes the steering angle of the vehicle 100, and an actuator for a braking device that generates braking force on the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 is configured as an electric vehicle (battery electric vehicle (BEV)) and uses battery power to drive the drive device. The drive device of the vehicle 100 is at least capable of driving the front wheels 101 to rotate. Figure 2As shown, the vehicle 100 includes: front wheels 101, which are symmetrically arranged left and right about the front and rear axles CL passing through the center of the vehicle 100 in top view; and rear wheels 102, which are arranged on the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 in top view. The steering device of the vehicle 100 can change the steering angle within the range of +90 degrees to -90 degrees. Here, the steering angle refers to the angle of the front wheels 101 relative to the front and rear axles CL. The vehicle 100 can turn around about the rear wheels 102 with a steering angle of +90 degrees or -90 degrees.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, the control device 150 is composed of a computer having a processor 151, a memory 152, an input / output interface 153, and an internal bus 154. The processor 151, memory 152, and input / output interface 153 are connected bidirectionally via the internal bus 154. A forward-range sensor 110F, a lateral-range sensor 110S, a vehicle speed sensor 120, a GNSS receiver 130, and an actuator assembly 140 are connected to the input / output interface 153 via signal lines, etc. The detection results of the forward-range sensor 110F, the lateral-range sensor 110S, the vehicle speed sensor 120, and the GNSS receiver 130 are input to the control device 150 via the input / output interface 153. In this invention, the processor 151 is sometimes referred to as a processing unit, the memory 152 as a storage unit, and the input / output interface 153 as an input unit, an output unit, or an input / output unit.

[0033] The memory 152 stores in advance a computer program, namely a driving program PG, for enabling the vehicle 100 to drive autonomously, and target position information TZ related to the target parking position of the vehicle 100. The processor 151 executes the driving program PG and functions as an acquisition unit 155 for acquiring the detection results of the range sensors 110F and 110S, the vehicle speed sensor 120, and the GNSS receiver 130, an estimation unit 156 for estimating the position and attitude of the vehicle 100, and a control unit 157 for controlling the position and attitude of the vehicle 100.

[0034] Figure 2 The illustrated garage 200 includes a front wall 210, a left side wall 220, and a charging device 250 for charging the battery of the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the garage 200 has a cuboid-shaped interior space. The front wall 210, the left side wall 220, and the charging device 250 are disposed within the interior space of the garage 200. The garage 200 has an entrance 205 leading to the outside. The front wall 210 is positioned at the front when viewed from the entrance 205, and the left side wall 220 is positioned to the left when viewed from the entrance 205. The front wall 210 and the left side wall 220 are arranged perpendicular to each other when viewed from above. The charging device 250 is positioned in front of the front wall 210 and to the right of the front wall 210 when viewed from the entrance 205.

[0035] Vehicle 100 can autonomously drive while using GNSS receiver 130 to detect its own position outdoors, such as outside garage 200. However, vehicle 100 cannot detect its own position using GNSS receiver 130 indoors, such as inside garage 200. Therefore, vehicle 100 autonomously drives to the target parking position while estimating its own position using range sensor 110 inside garage 200. In this embodiment, the target parking position is set next to charging equipment 250.

[0036] <Location Estimation Method 1>

[0037] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the steps of a position estimation method for a vehicle 100 using a range sensor 110. Figure 4 This is a first explanatory diagram illustrating a method for estimating the position of a vehicle 100 using a domain sensor 110. Here, the method for estimating the position and attitude of the vehicle 100 using both a forward domain sensor 110F and a lateral domain sensor 110S will be explained.

[0038] like Figure 3 As shown, in step S110, the acquisition unit 155 acquires two-dimensional distance information DZ1 and DZ2 from the forward-looking field sensor 110F and the lateral field sensor 110S. Figure 4 As shown, the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 and DZ2 obtained from each measuring field sensor 110F and 110S contains multiple pairs of azimuth angles ψ of detection points DP1 and DP2 on the object observed from each measuring field sensor 110F and 110S, as well as distances d from each measuring field sensor 110F and 110S to the detection points DP1 and DP2 on the object.

[0039] In step S120, the estimation unit 156 determines the usable range of the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 and DZ2 acquired from each of the measuring field sensors 110F and 110S for position estimation in the subsequent step S130. In this embodiment, the estimation unit 156 determines the usable range by the following method. By determining the usable range using the following method, the subsequent position estimation can be performed without using the range where obstacles are detected by the charging device 250, etc., thus improving the accuracy of the subsequent position estimation.

[0040] The method for determining the scope of use related to the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 obtained from the forward range sensor 110F is described. First, the estimation unit 156 temporarily estimates the current position (xi, yi) of the forward range sensor 110F in the garage coordinate system Cg by the following equations (1) and (2).

[0041] xi = xi-1 - v × cosθ……(1)

[0042] yi = yi-1 - v × sinθ……(2)

[0043] Next, the estimation unit 156 uses the current position (xi, yi) of the forward-measuring sensor 110F in the temporarily estimated garage coordinate system Cg and the positions (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) of the two endpoints P1 and P2 of the front wall 210 in the garage coordinate system Cg to calculate the azimuth range φ using the following formula (3). Among the multiple pairs of azimuth angles ψ and distances d contained in the two-dimensional distance information DZ1, the estimation unit 156 determines the pair of azimuth angles ψ within the azimuth range φ as the usage range.

[0044] arctan((yi-y1) / (xi-x1))-θ≤φ≤arctan((yi-y2) / (xi-x2))-θ……(3)

[0045] Here, the garage coordinate system Cg is a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system with the intersection of the front wall 210 and the left side wall 220 as the origin, and has an x-axis perpendicular to the front wall 210 and a y-axis perpendicular to the left side wall 220. xi-1 and yi-1 are the x and y coordinates of the forward-measuring sensor 110F in the garage coordinate system Cg calculated based on the previous estimation result. The positional relationship between the forward-measuring sensor 110F and the lateral-measuring sensor 110S is known. θ is the azimuth angle of the vehicle 100 in the previous estimation result. θ is expressed as the angle between the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and the left side wall 220. v is the vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 120. The previous estimation result refers to the latest estimation result estimated in the subsequent step S130 after the vehicle 100 enters the garage 200. In the initial step S120 after the vehicle 100 enters the garage 200, the previous estimation result is not present. Therefore, in this embodiment, the estimation unit 156 determines the preset initial azimuth angle range as the aforementioned azimuth angle range φ in the first step S120. The vehicle 100 is controlled to enter the garage 200 from a preset initial position with a preset initial posture. Therefore, the initial azimuth angle range is preferably set to the range detected by the forward-looking field sensor 110F when scanning the surroundings in the initial position and initial posture. In other embodiments, the estimation unit 156 can set the x and y coordinates of the forward-looking field sensor 110F at the initial position as xi-1 and yi-1, and set the azimuth angle of the vehicle 100 at the initial posture as θ in the first step S120.

[0046] The above describes the method for determining the usage range related to the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 acquired from the forward-looking field sensor 110F. The usage range related to the two-dimensional distance information DZ2 acquired from the lateral field sensor 110S can also be determined in the same manner. Specifically, when determining the usage range related to the two-dimensional distance information DZ2 acquired from the lateral field sensor 110S, the positions (x3, y3), (x4, y4) of the two endpoints P3, P4 of the left side wall 220 in the garage coordinate system Cg are used instead of the positions (x1, y1), (x2, y2) of the two endpoints P1, P2 of the front wall 210 in the garage coordinate system Cg. Information related to the positions of the two endpoints P1, P2 of the front wall 210 and the two endpoints P3, P4 of the left side wall 220 is pre-stored in the memory 152.

[0047] In step S130, the estimation unit 156 uses the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 and DZ2 within the aforementioned usage range to estimate the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 within the garage 200. In this embodiment, the estimation unit 156 estimates the distance s between the forward-looking field sensor 110F and the front wall 210, the distance w between the lateral field sensor 110S and the left side wall 220, and the angle θ between the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and the left side wall 220 as the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 within the garage 200. Specifically, firstly, the estimation unit 156 converts the azimuth angle ψ and distance d of the detection point DP1 included in the usage range of the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 into the x and y coordinates of the detection point DP1 in the sensor coordinate system Cs1 of the forward-looking field sensor 110F, and calculates the approximate straight line Ls of each detection point DP1 in the sensor coordinate system Cs1. Furthermore, the estimation unit 156 converts the azimuth angle ψ and distance d of the detection point DP2 included in the usage range of the two-dimensional distance information DZ2 into the x and y coordinates of the detection point DP2 in the sensor coordinate system Cs2 of the lateral range sensor 110S, and calculates the approximate straight line Lw of each detection point DP2 in the sensor coordinate system Cs2. The estimation unit 156 can calculate the approximate straight lines Ls and Lw, for example, by using the least squares method. Here, the sensor coordinate system Cs1 of the forward range sensor 110F is a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system with the forward range sensor 110F as the origin, and has an x-axis parallel to the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and a y-axis parallel to the left and right axes of the vehicle 100. The sensor coordinate system Cs2 of the lateral range sensor 110S is a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system with the lateral range sensor 110S as the origin, and has an x-axis parallel to the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and a y-axis parallel to the left and right axes of the vehicle 100. Next, the estimation unit 156 estimates the distance between the forward measuring sensor 110F and the approximate straight line Ls as the distance s between the forward measuring sensor 110F and the front wall 210, estimates the distance between the lateral measuring sensor 110S and the approximate straight line Lw as the distance w between the lateral measuring sensor 110S and the left side wall 220, and estimates the angle between the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and the approximate straight line Lw as the angle θ between the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and the left side wall 220.

[0048] <Location Estimation Method 2>

[0049] Figure 5 This is a second explanatory diagram illustrating a method for estimating the position of a vehicle 100 using a lateral ...

[0050] exist Figure 3 In step S110 shown, the acquisition unit 155 acquires two-dimensional distance information DZ1 from the forward-looking field sensor 110F. For example... Figure 5As shown, the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 obtained from the forward domain sensor 110F includes multiple pairs of azimuth angles ψ of detection points DP1a and DP1b on the object observed by the forward domain sensor 110F and distances d from the forward domain sensor 110F to the detection points DP1a and DP1b on the object.

[0051] In step S120, the estimation unit 156 determines the usage range of the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 obtained from the forward range sensor 110F for the position estimation in the subsequent step S130. Specifically, firstly, the estimation unit 156 temporarily estimates the current position (xi, yi) of the forward range sensor 110F in the garage coordinate system Cg in the same manner as the position estimation method 1 described above. Next, the estimation unit 156 uses the temporarily estimated current position (xi, yi) of the forward range sensor 110F in the garage coordinate system Cg and the positions (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) of the two endpoints P1 and P2 of the front wall 210 in the garage coordinate system Cg to calculate the usage azimuth range, and determines the pairing of the multiple sets of azimuth angles ψ and distances d contained in the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 as the usage range for the front wall 210. Furthermore, the estimation unit 156 uses the current position (xi, yi) of the forward-looking field sensor 110F in the temporarily estimated garage coordinate system Cg and the positions (x3, y3) and (x4, y4) of the two endpoints P3 and P4 of the left side wall 220 in the garage coordinate system Cg to calculate the usable azimuth range for the left side wall 220, and determines the pairing of multiple sets of azimuth angles ψ and distance d contained in the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 as the pairing within the azimuth range as the usable range for the left side wall 220.

[0052] In step S130, the estimation unit 156 estimates the distance s between the forward-looking field sensor 110F and the front wall 210, the distance w between the position of the lateral field sensor 110S and the left side wall 220, and the angle θ between the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and the left side wall 220 as the position and attitude of the vehicle 100 within the garage 200. Specifically, firstly, the estimation unit 156 converts the azimuth angle ψ and distance d of the detection point DP1a included in the usage range of the front wall 210 of the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 into the x and y coordinates of the detection point DP1a in the sensor coordinate system Cs1 of the forward-looking field sensor 110F, and calculates the approximate straight line Ls of each detection point DP1a in the sensor coordinate system Cs1. Furthermore, the estimation unit 156 converts the azimuth angle ψ and distance d of the detection point DP1b included in the usage range of the left side wall 220 of the two-dimensional distance information DZ1 into the x and y coordinates of the detection point DP1b in the sensor coordinate system Cs1 of the forward measuring field sensor 110F, and calculates the approximate straight line Lw of each detection point DP1b in the sensor coordinate system Cs1. Next, the estimation unit 156 estimates the distance between the forward measuring field sensor 110F and the approximate straight line Ls as the distance s between the forward measuring field sensor 110F and the front wall 210, estimates the distance between the position of the lateral measuring field sensor 110S and the approximate straight line Lw as the distance w between the lateral measuring field sensor 110S and the left side wall 220, and estimates the angle between the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and the approximate straight line Lw as the angle θ between the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and the left side wall 220. The estimation unit 156 calculates the distance w between the position of the lateral measuring field sensor 110S and the left side wall 220 using the following formula (4).

[0053] w=w1-u×cos(θ+α)……(4)

[0054] Here, w1 is the distance between the forward measuring sensor 110F and the approximate straight line Lw, u is the length of the line segment connecting the position of the forward measuring sensor 110F and the position of the lateral measuring sensor 110S, and α is the angle between the aforementioned line segment and the left and right axes of the vehicle 100.

[0055] Automatic Parking Control

[0056] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the processing steps of automatic parking control executed by the processor 151 of the control device 150. Figure 7 This is the first explanatory diagram showing the state of automatic parking control. Figure 8 This is the second explanatory diagram showing the state of automatic parking control. Figure 6Before the automatic parking control shown, the control device 150 stops the vehicle 100 in a preset initial position with a preset initial attitude. In this embodiment, the initial position is set in front of the entrance 205 of the garage 200. The control device 150 controls the position and attitude of the vehicle 100 using a GNSS receiver 130, stopping the vehicle 100 in the initial position with the initial attitude. The steering angle of the vehicle 100 when stopped in the initial position is 0 degrees. The control device 150 starts automatic parking control when the vehicle 100 stops in the initial position. The vehicle 100's speed during automatic parking control is several km / h.

[0057] If automatic parking control is initiated, in step S210, the control device 150 causes the vehicle 100 to move straight from its initial position toward the garage 200 (see reference). Figure 7 (A)). In step S210, the steering angle of vehicle 100 is 0 degrees. In step S210, control device 150 does not correct the position and azimuth of vehicle 100, allowing vehicle 100 to travel straight naturally. Wherein, if the position of vehicle 100 can be detected using GNSS receiver 130, control device 150 can correct the position and azimuth of vehicle 100 using the detection results of GNSS receiver 130 while allowing vehicle 100 to travel straight. If the left side wall 220 is detected by forward field sensor 110F during the execution of step S210, control device 150 proceeds to step S220; if the left side wall 220 is detected by lateral field sensor 110S during the execution of step S210, control device 150 skips step S220 and proceeds to step S230.

[0058] In step S220, the control device 150 estimates the lateral position and azimuth of the vehicle 100 within the garage 200 based on the relative positional relationship between the left side wall 220 and the vehicle 100 detected by the forward-looking field sensor 110F. While correcting the lateral position of the vehicle 100 through lateral position FB (feedback) steering control, the control device 150 ensures the vehicle 100 travels straight (see reference). Figure 7 (B)). Here, lateral position refers to the position in the y-axis direction in the garage coordinate system Cg. The steering angle of vehicle 100 in step S220 is the amount obtained by adding the lateral position deviation FB to 0 degrees. If the left side wall 220 is detected by the lateral field sensor 110S during the execution of step S220, the control device 150 causes the process to proceed to step S230.

[0059] In step S230, the control device 150 aligns the lateral position of the rear wheel 102 (see reference). Figure 7(C) Specifically, the control device 150 causes the vehicle 100 to rotate while moving forward, with the rear wheel center CP overlapping the lateral reference line RL in a top-view orientation. The lateral reference line RL is a line with a predetermined positional relationship to the left side wall 220. In this embodiment, the lateral reference line RL passes between the left side wall 220 and the charging device 250 and is set parallel to the left side wall 220. The lateral reference line RL can be a physically existing line, such as a line painted on the road surface, or it can be an imaginary line that does not physically exist. Information related to the position of the lateral reference line RL is included in the target position information TZ. For example, when the rear wheel center CP is on the left side relative to the lateral reference line RL in a top-view orientation, the control device 150 causes the vehicle 100 to rotate with a steering angle of 15 degrees to the right while moving forward. Here, the overlap of the rear wheel center CP and the lateral reference line RL not only means that the rear wheel center CP is located on the lateral reference line RL, but also includes that the distance between the rear wheel center CP and the lateral reference line RL is within a predetermined target range. Therefore, the target range of the distance between the rear wheel center CP and the lateral reference line RL is sometimes included in the target position information TZ. When the azimuth angle of the vehicle 100 is appropriate when the rear wheel center CP overlaps with the lateral reference line RL, the control device 150 proceeds to step S240. Conversely, when the azimuth angle of the vehicle 100 is inappropriate when the rear wheel center CP overlaps with the lateral reference line RL, the control device 150 skips steps S240 to S260 and proceeds to step S270. In this embodiment, the control device 150 determines that the azimuth angle of the vehicle 100 is appropriate when the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 are parallel to the lateral reference line RL. Here, the parallelism of the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 to the lateral reference line RL not only means that the angle between the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and the lateral reference line RL is 0 degrees, but also includes that the angle between the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and the lateral reference line RL is within a predetermined target range. Therefore, the target range of the angle between the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 and the lateral reference line RL is sometimes included in the target position information TZ.

[0060] In step S240, to correct the azimuth angle of vehicle 100, control device 150 performs stationary steering of the steering wheel. Stationary steering refers to changing the steering angle while vehicle 100 is stationary. If the azimuth angle of vehicle 100 deviates to the left, control device 150 performs stationary steering of the steering wheel by turning the steering angle 90 degrees to the right; if the azimuth angle of vehicle 100 deviates to the right, control device 150 performs stationary steering of the steering wheel by turning the steering angle 90 degrees to the left. If the steering angle reaches 90 degrees to the left or right, control device 150 proceeds to step S250.

[0061] In step S250, the control device 150 drives the front wheels 101 to rotate while the steering angle is 90 degrees to the right or left, so that the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 are parallel to the lateral reference line RL, causing the vehicle 100 to rotate around the rear wheels 102 (see reference). Figure 8 (D)). In step S250, the position of the rear wheel center CP does not change. If the front and rear axles CL of vehicle 100 are parallel to the lateral reference line RL, the control device 150 stops the rotation of vehicle 100, and the process proceeds to step S260.

[0062] In step S260, with the vehicle 100 stopped, the control device 150 returns the steering wheel to center, so that the steering angle of 90 degrees to the right or left becomes 0 degrees. If the steering angle becomes 0 degrees, the control device 150 proceeds to step S270.

[0063] In step S270, the control device 150 corrects the lateral position of the vehicle 100 by using the lateral position FB detected by the lateral range sensor 110S for steering control, while simultaneously ensuring that the vehicle 100 travels straight. The steering angle of the vehicle 100 in step S270 is obtained by adding the lateral position deviation FB to 0 degrees.

[0064] In step S280, the control device 150 stops the vehicle 100 in a parking position next to the charging equipment 250 (see reference). Figure 8 (E)). The target position information TZ includes the distance between the forward-looking field sensor 110F and the front wall 210 when the vehicle 100 is parked at the target parking position. The control device 150 can use the detection result of the forward-looking field sensor 110F and the target position information TZ to determine whether the vehicle 100 has reached the target stopping position. When the vehicle 100 is parked at the target parking position, the charging port of the vehicle 100 is located on the front and rear reference lines SL when viewed from above. The front and rear reference lines SL are lines with a predetermined positional relationship with the front wall 210 and the charging device 250. In this embodiment, the front and rear reference lines SL are set parallel to the front wall 210. The front and rear reference lines SL can be, for example, physically existing lines such as lines painted on the road surface, or imaginary lines that do not physically exist. After parking the vehicle 100 at the target parking position, the control device 150 waits until it receives an exit instruction. The exit instruction is sent, for example, from a management device that manages the operation of the vehicle 100. If an outbound instruction is received, the control device 150 causes the process to proceed to step S290.

[0065] In step S290, the control device 150 reverses the vehicle 100 by a predetermined distance (see reference). Figure 8(F) When the left side wall 220 can be detected by the range sensors 110F and 110S, the control device 150 reverses while correcting the lateral position of the vehicle 100 through lateral position FB steering control. When the left side wall 220 cannot be detected by the range sensors 110F and 110S, the control device 150 does not correct the lateral position of the vehicle 100 and allows the vehicle 100 to reverse naturally. Wherein, when the position of the vehicle 100 can be detected using the GNSS receiver 130, the control device 150 can reverse the vehicle 100 while correcting the lateral position and azimuth angle of the vehicle 100 using the detection results of the GNSS receiver 130. In this embodiment, the control device 150 ends the automatic parking control after the vehicle 100 has reversed to the outside. Then, the control device 150 drives the vehicle 100 outdoors while detecting the position of the vehicle 100 through the GNSS receiver 130.

[0066] According to the control device 150 in this embodiment described above, in automatic parking control, the detection results of the range sensors 110F and 110S are used to make the vehicle 100 move so that the rear wheel center CP of the vehicle 100 overlaps with the lateral reference line RL. While maintaining the overlap between the rear wheel center CP and the lateral reference line RL, the vehicle 100 is rotated around the rear wheel center CP so that the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100 are parallel to the reference line RL. While maintaining the parallelism between the front and rear axles CL and the reference line RL, the vehicle 100 is driven to the target position. Therefore, through automatic parking control, the vehicle 100 can be parked in the target position within the garage 200 with the target posture. In particular, in this embodiment, the control device 150 can make the vehicle 100 park in the target position within the garage 200 with the target posture through simple control without using a 3D map. In this embodiment, the target parking position is set next to the charging device 250. Therefore, the charging of the vehicle 100 can be automated.

[0067] Furthermore, in this embodiment, during automatic parking control, the control device 150 uses the detection results of the forward-facing sensor 110F to control the position and attitude of the vehicle 100 before the left side wall 220 is detected by the lateral sensor 110S. Therefore, even when the vehicle 100 is located in a place where the left side wall 220 cannot be detected by the lateral sensor 110S, the control device 150 can still use the detection results of the forward-facing sensor 110F to appropriately control the position and attitude of the vehicle 100.

[0068] Furthermore, in this embodiment, during the automatic parking control step S250, when the vehicle 100 is turned around with the rear wheel center CP as the center, the control device 150 uses the detection results of the lateral range sensor 110S to control the position and attitude of the vehicle 100. Therefore, when the vehicle 100 is turned around with the rear wheel center CP as the center, the attitude of the vehicle 100 can be controlled with high precision.

[0069] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the vehicle 100 includes: front wheels 101, symmetrically arranged about the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100; and rear wheels 102, arranged on the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100. In addition, in the automatic parking control step S250, when the vehicle 100 is turned around with the rear wheel center CP as the center, the control device 150 controls the steering angle of the vehicle 100 such that it is 90 degrees to the left or right relative to the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100. Therefore, the vehicle 100 can be turned around with the rear wheel center CP as the center without changing the position of the rear wheel center CP.

[0070] B. Other implementation methods:

[0071] (B1) In the above embodiment, the vehicle 100 includes a forward-measuring sensor 110F and a lateral-measuring sensor 110S. Alternatively, the vehicle 100 may not include either the forward-measuring sensor 110F or the lateral-measuring sensor 110S. Even without the lateral-measuring sensor 110S, the position and attitude of the vehicle 100 can be estimated using the forward-measuring sensor 110F through the position estimation method 2 described above. Furthermore, even without the forward-measuring sensor 110F, the position and attitude of the vehicle 100 can be estimated using the lateral-measuring sensor 110S through the same method as the position estimation method 2 described above.

[0072] (B2) In the above embodiment, the vehicle 100 includes: front wheels 101, symmetrically arranged about the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100; and rear wheels 102, arranged on the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100. Furthermore, the vehicle 100 is configured to be controllable by turning the steering angle 90 degrees to the left or right. However, it is not limited to the above configuration as long as it is configured to allow rotation around the rear wheel center CP. For example, the rear wheels 102 of the vehicle 100 can be symmetrically arranged about the front and rear axles CL of the vehicle 100, and can also be configured to be controllable by turning the steering angle 90 degrees to the left or right.

[0073] This invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from its spirit. For example, to address some or all of the above-described problems, or to achieve some or all of the above-described effects, technical features in embodiments corresponding to the technical features in the various methods described in the summary section of the invention can be appropriately replaced or combined. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be appropriately omitted.

[0074] Symbol Explanation

[0075] 100 - Vehicle, 101 - Front wheel, 102 - Rear wheel, 110F - Forward range sensor, 110S - Lateral range sensor, 120 - Vehicle speed sensor, 130 - GNSS receiver, 140 - Actuator assembly, 150 - Control unit, 151 - Processor, 152 - Memory, 153 - Input / output interface, 154 - Internal bus, 155 - Acquisition unit, 156 - Estimation unit, 157 - Control unit, 200 - Garage, 205 - Entrance / Exit, 210 - Front wall, 220 - Left side wall, 250 - Charging equipment.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device, characterized in that, have: An input unit is used to input the detection results of a field sensor mounted on the vehicle and detecting walls located around the vehicle; and The processing unit executes automatic parking control, in which the detection results of the measuring sensor are used to stop the vehicle at a parking position that has a preset positional relationship with the wall. The processing unit performs the following processing in the automatic parking control: Using the detection results of the measuring field sensor, the vehicle is driven in such a way that the center of the rear wheel of the vehicle overlaps with the baseline, and the baseline and the wall have a predetermined positional relationship; While maintaining the rear wheel center aligned with the baseline, the vehicle rotates around the rear wheel center with the front and rear axles parallel to the baseline. While maintaining the parallelism between the front and rear axles of the vehicle and the baseline, the vehicle is driven to the parking position.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The measurement range sensor includes: a forward measurement range sensor that detects the wall located in front of the vehicle; and a lateral measurement range sensor that detects the wall located to the side of the vehicle. In the automatic parking control, the processing unit uses the detection results of the forward-looking sensor to control the position and attitude of the vehicle before the wall is detected by the lateral measuring sensor.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, characterized in that, In the automatic parking control, the processing unit uses the detection results of the lateral field sensor to control the position and attitude of the vehicle when the vehicle is turned around with the center of the rear wheel as the center.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vehicle includes: front wheels symmetrically arranged about the front and rear axles of the vehicle and controllable to have a steering angle of 90 degrees relative to the front and rear axles of the vehicle; and rear wheels disposed on the front and rear axles of the vehicle. In the automatic parking control, the processing unit controls the steering angle of the front wheels to be 90 degrees relative to the front and rear axles of the vehicle when the vehicle is turned around with the center of the rear wheels as the center.

5. A method for controlling a vehicle, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Using the detection results of a field sensor mounted on the vehicle and detecting the wall located around the vehicle, the vehicle is driven in such a way that the center of the rear wheel of the vehicle overlaps with a reference line, the reference line and the wall having a predetermined positional relationship; While maintaining the rear wheel center aligned with the baseline, the vehicle rotates around the rear wheel center with the front and rear axles parallel to the baseline. While maintaining the vehicle's front and rear axles parallel to the baseline, the vehicle is driven to a parking position with a pre-set positional relationship to the wall.

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