Method, device and system for a parking control system

Abstract

Parking control device (110) with: a parking control start signal input unit for receiving a parking control start signal through a parking control switch (120); a detection control unit (420) for controlling such that, when the parking control start signal is entered while a vehicle is moving, a left area and a right area are detected by a left ultrasonic sensor (131) and a right ultrasonic sensor (132), and a left image for the left area and a right image for the right area are photographed by at least one camera (133); and a parking mode determination unit (440) for assessing whether a parking space is available on the left or right side of the vehicle, and whether the vehicle is to be parked at a right angle or parallel, based on left ultrasound data and the left image for the left area and on right ultrasound data and the right image for the right area, and for determining a parking mode for parking the vehicle in the parking space according to the assessment result; characterized by the fact that The parking mode determination unit (440) judges that the vehicle should be parked at a right angle when a determined size of the available parking space is larger than a first predetermined value and smaller than a second predetermined value; and if the determined size of the available parking space is larger than the second predetermined value: The parking mode determination unit (440) judges that the vehicle should be parked at a right angle if a vehicle adjacent to the available parking space is parked at a right angle, and Otherwise, the parking mode determination unit (440) determines that the vehicle should be parked parallel.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a parking control system. 2. Description of the state of the art

[0002] According to the prior art, after pressing a parking control switch to start parking control, a driver repeatedly operates a parking mode selection switch several times while visually checking the surrounding situation to select a desired parking mode from various types of parking modes. This causes the driver to operate the parking mode selection switch several times to determine a parking mode.

[0003] Furthermore, the current parking control system has many limitations in detecting obstacles using only an ultrasonic sensor, which causes problems with the accuracy and reliability of the parking control. For example, due to these limitations, one type of obstacle (a parked vehicle and an obstacle other than a vehicle, such as a pillar and a wall) cannot be distinguished or detected. Furthermore, the accuracy and reliability of the parking control system may be deteriorated due to limitations such that the front or rear surface of a parked vehicle cannot be distinguished or recognized as an obstacle.

[0004] DE 10 2007 002 261 A1 and DE 10 2007 002 262 A1 each describe a method for assisting in parking a motor vehicle, whereby parameters of possible parking spaces are determined by means of sensors and displayed to the driver by means of a graphical operating device.

[0005] EP 0 835 796 A2 describes an automatic steering system for a vehicle including a storage section for storing data for a steering angle of a wheel with respect to a moving distance of a vehicle in accordance with four Parlanodi.

[0006] DE 10 2005 032 095 A1 describes a parking device to support a parking process, in which sensors detect a vehicle environment and an evaluation unit determines an orientation of the parking space based on the parking space environment. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems encountered in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method, apparatus, and system for parking control that can detect a peripheral situation to automatically determine a parking mode only when a driver presses a parking control switch once to start parking control, thereby eliminating a parking mode selection switch and eliminating inconvenience in operation for selecting a parking mode by the driver.

[0008] It is another object of the present invention to provide a method, apparatus, and system for parking control that can overcome limitations of ultrasonic sensors by further using a camera in addition to the ultrasonic sensors, thereby allowing obstacles to be detected more accurately and parking control to be performed more safely and accurately.

[0009] These and other objects are achieved according to the invention by a parking control device having the features of claim 1, a parking control method having the features of claim 8, a parking control system having the features of claim 9 and a parking control device having the features of claim 10.

[0010] Advantageous further training results from the dependent subclaims.

[0011] As described above, the present invention can detect a peripheral situation to automatically determine a parking mode only when a driver presses a parking control switch to start parking control once, thereby eliminating a parking mode selection switch and eliminating inconvenience in operation for selecting a parking mode by the driver.

[0012] Furthermore, the present invention can overcome limitations of ultrasonic sensors by also using a camera in addition to the ultrasonic sensors, thereby allowing obstacles to be detected more accurately and parking control to be performed more safely and accurately. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a view illustrating a parking control system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a view illustrating a parking control operation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a view illustrating single-mode types for parking control in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a parking control apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5 is an exemplary view illustrating that the parking control device in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention determines a parking mode; Fig. 6 is another exemplary view illustrating that the parking control device in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention determines a parking mode; Fig. 7 is another exemplary view illustrating that the parking control apparatus in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention determines a parking mode; Fig. 8 is another exemplary view illustrating that the parking control device in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention determines a parking mode; Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a parking control method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a parking control apparatus in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are shown in different drawings. Furthermore, in the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted if doing so would obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

[0015] In addition, terms such as a first, a second, A, B, (a), (b), or the like may be used herein when describing components of the present invention. None of this terminology is used to define an essence, order, or sequence of a corresponding component, but is used merely to distinguish the corresponding component from one or more other components. It should be noted that where the description describes a component as being "connected," "coupled," or "joined" to another component, a third component may be "connected," "connected," "coupled," and "joined" between the first and second components, even though the first component may be directly connected, coupled, or joined to the second component.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a view illustrating a parking control system 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] With reference to Fig. 1, the parking control system 100 in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention includes a parking control switch 120 for receiving a parking control start signal, a plurality of detection units 130 for detecting a surrounding of the vehicle while the vehicle is moving, in accordance with an input of the parking control start signal from the parking control switch 120, and a parking control unit 110 for judging whether there is an available parking space on the left or right side of the vehicle and whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or in parallel in the parking space based on detection results input from the plurality of detection units 130, determining a parking mode for parking the vehicle in the parking space in accordance with the judgment result, and performing parking control such that the vehicle is moved sothat it is parked in the parking space according to the specified parking mode.

[0018] With reference to Fig. 1, the parking control system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include, in addition to the parking control unit 110 for performing parking control as a whole, the parking control switch 120, and the plurality of detection units 130, a human-machine interface 140 for providing various interfaces such as a driver input and an output of a message related to the parking control, and an acoustic unit 150 for outputting a buzzer sound, an alarm sound, or a guidance voice related to the parking control.

[0019] The parking control system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a control execution unit 160 for allowing the vehicle to behave or react in accordance with a parking control by the parking control unit 110. The control execution unit 160 may include a steering unit and a braking unit.

[0020] The parking control unit 110 described above can be implemented by an electronic control unit (ECU).

[0021] The plurality of detection units 130 may include at least two ultrasonic sensors 131 and 132. For example, the plurality of detection units 130 may include a left ultrasonic sensor 131 mounted on the left side of the vehicle and a right ultrasonic sensor 132 mounted on the right side of the vehicle.

[0022] The plurality of detection units 130 may further include a camera 133 in addition to the at least two ultrasonic sensors 131 and 132. The camera 133 may serve to compensate for an inaccurate part of the obstacle detection by the left ultrasonic sensor 131 or the right ultrasonic sensor 132.

[0023] Fig. 2 is a view schematically illustrating a parking control operation by the parking control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] With reference to Fig. 2, the parking control process according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a parking control start step S210, a parking space search step S220, a parking mode determination step S230, a parking control execution-related information calculation step S240, and a parking control execution step S250.

[0025] The parking control start step S210 is a step of starting parking control according to a driver's operation of the parking control switch 120. In a parking control according to the related art, a driver selects a parking mode through multiple switch operations in this step.

[0026] The parking space search step S220 is a step of detecting an obstacle around the vehicle by using the plurality of detection units 130 while the vehicle is moving to an available parking space, detecting the existence of an available parking space, and obtaining various information about the parking space.

[0027] Here, various information (a detection result from the plurality of detection units 130) about the parking space may include information that can be obtained by analyzing ultrasonic data, and may further include information that can be obtained by analyzing an image.

[0028] The information that can be obtained by analyzing ultrasonic data can include, for example, information about a distance between the vehicle and an obstacle, a distance between obstacles, and a size of the parking space.

[0029] The information that can be obtained by analyzing an image may include, for example, a type of obstacle and a classification of a side surface and a front surface (or back surface) of the obstacle.

[0030] The parking mode determination step S230 is a step of judging whether the parking space is located on the left or right side of the vehicle by using various information (detection result) obtained in the parking space search step S220, and judging whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel to determine a parking mode by a combination of the judgment results.

[0031] The parking control execution-related information calculation step S240 is a step of calculating various information about how the parking control, such as control of the behavior or response of the vehicle, is executed to park the vehicle in the parking space according to the set parking mode.

[0032] In the information calculation step S240 related to the parking control execution, for example, a target parking position may be calculated based on various information about the parking space acquired in the parking space search step S220, a parking path for moving the vehicle to the target parking position at a point where the parking space search step S220 is completed is calculated, and steering control information, gear shift control information, and brake control information and the like may be calculated so that the vehicle is moved along the calculated parking path.

[0033] Parking control execution step S250 is a step of controlling the behavior or response of the vehicle such that the vehicle actually moves along the parking path by using various information calculated in the information calculation step S240 related to the parking control execution. Then, instruction signals can be transmitted to the steering unit, the driving unit, the braking unit, and the like using various information calculated in the information calculation step S240 related to the parking control execution.

[0034] The parking control in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention can support various types of parking modes and can, for example, as shown in Fig. 3, a right perpendicular parking mode (a), a left perpendicular parking mode (b), a right parallel parking mode (c) and a left parallel parking mode (d).

[0035] According to the prior art, after pressing the parking control switch 120 to start parking control, a driver repeatedly operates a parking mode selection switch several times while visually checking the surrounding situation to select a desired parking mode from various types of parking modes. This causes the driver to operate the parking mode selection switch several times to determine a parking mode.

[0036] In contrast, according to the present invention, when a driver presses the parking control switch 120 once to start parking control, a parking mode is automatically determined after the surrounding situation is detected, and thus a parking mode selection switch becomes unnecessary and inconvenience in the driver's operation for selecting a parking mode can be eliminated.

[0037] Furthermore, in accordance with the current state of the art, there are many limitations in detecting obstacles using only an ultrasonic sensor in parking control. Due to these limitations, for example, one type of obstacle (a parked vehicle and an obstacle other than a vehicle, such as a pillar and a wall) cannot be detected or distinguished, or the front surface and rear surface of the parked vehicle cannot be distinguished or perceived as one obstacle.

[0038] However, since the present invention additionally uses the camera 133, such limitations of the ultrasonic sensor can be overcome, thereby assisting in more accurate detection of an obstacle and providing safer and more accurate parking control.

[0039] Hereinafter, the parking control device 110 for performing an entire parking control in the parking control system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

[0040] Meanwhile, an embodiment in which the plurality of detection units 130 includes the left ultrasonic sensor 131, the right ultrasonic sensor 132, and the at least one camera 133 will be described below.

[0041] Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the parking control device 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] With reference to Fig. 4, the parking control device 110 in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention includes a parking control start signal input unit 410 for receiving a parking control start signal through a parking control switch 120, a detection control unit 420 for controlling such that, when the parking control start signal is input while a vehicle is moving, a left area and a right area are detected by a left ultrasonic sensor 131 and a right ultrasonic sensor 132, and a left image for the left area and a right image for the right area are photographed by at least one camera 133, and a parking mode determination unit 440 for judging whether there is an available parking space on the left or right side of the vehicle and whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel.based on left ultrasonic data and the left image for the left area and on right ultrasonic data and the right image for the right area, and for determining a parking mode for parking the vehicle in the parking space according to the judgment result.

[0043] Here, the detection control unit 410 is defined as the unit for controlling the detection units (for example, left and right ultrasonic sensors, at least one camera).

[0044] The parking mode determination unit 440 acquires information about a distance between the vehicle and an obstacle in the left area from the left ultrasonic data, and detects the presence of an obstacle in the left area and a type of the obstacle through image analysis of the left image to judge whether the parking space is located on the left side of the vehicle, and acquires information about a distance between the vehicle and an obstacle in the right area from the right ultrasonic data, and detects the presence of an obstacle in the right area and a type of the obstacle through image analysis of the right image to judge whether the parking space is located on the right side of the vehicle.

[0045] For example, if it is determined that there are parking spaces on both the left and right sides of the vehicle, after a size (for example, an entrance width of the parking space) of a parking space located on the left side is calculated from a distance between obstacles by the left ultrasonic data and a size of a parking space located on the right side is calculated from a distance between obstacles by the right ultrasonic data, the size of the parking space located on the left side and the size of the parking space located on the right side are compared with each other, so that the larger parking space can be determined as a parking space in which the vehicle should be parked.

[0046] When the parking space is located on the left side of the vehicle, the parking mode determination unit 440 may acquire information about a size of the parking space from the left ultrasonic data, and detect the presence of an obstacle in the left area, a type of the obstacle, and a state of the obstacle through image analysis of the left image to judge whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel in the parking space.

[0047] Furthermore, when the parking space is located on the right side of the vehicle, the parking mode determination unit 440 may acquire information about a size of the parking space from the right ultrasonic data, and detect the presence of an obstacle in the right area, a type of the obstacle, and a state of the obstacle through image analysis of the right image to judge whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel in the parking space.

[0048] In order to judge whether there is an available parking space on the left or right side of the vehicle, and whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel, the parking mode determination unit 440 may, during image analysis of the left image and the right image, determine a region of interest (ROI) having a predetermined size in the corresponding image, extract an edge component from an image corresponding to the determined ROI, acquire obstacle contour information based on the extracted edge component, and determine at least one or more obstacle contour information.detect one of the presence of an obstacle, a type of the obstacle (for example, a parked vehicle and a non-vehicle obstacle), and a state of the obstacle (for example, a parking state of a parked vehicle, that is, a perpendicular parking state, a parallel parking state, a front-side parking state, and a rear-side parking state) based on the acquired obstacle contour information.

[0049] The parking mode determination unit 440 compares various obstacle shape information stored in advance with the acquired obstacle contour information by a learning algorithm such as the Adaboost algorithm to more accurately recognize the presence of an obstacle, a type of the vehicle, and a state of the vehicle.

[0050] The parking mode determination unit 440 finally determines a parking mode after determining whether an available parking space is located on the left or right side of the vehicle, and whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel. If it is judged that the parking space is located on the left side of the vehicle and the vehicle should be parked at a right angle in the parking space, the parking mode determination unit 440 may determine a left perpendicular parking mode as the parking mode; if it is judged that the parking space is located on the right side of the vehicle and the vehicle should be parked at a right angle in the parking space, the parking mode determination unit 440 may determine a right perpendicular parking mode as the parking mode.If it is judged that the parking space is on the left side of the vehicle and the vehicle is to be parallel parked in the parking space, the parking mode determination unit 440 may determine a left parallel parking mode as the parking mode; and if it is judged that the parking space is on the right side of the vehicle and the vehicle is to be parallel parked in the parking space, the parking mode determination unit 440 may determine a right parallel parking mode as the parking mode.

[0051] As in Fig. 4, the parking control device 110 may further include a parking path calculation unit 450 for calculating a parking path along which the vehicle is moved to be parked according to the set parking mode based on the information obtained by analyzing the ultrasonic data input by the ultrasonic sensors 131 and 132 and the information obtained by analyzing an image photographed by the camera 133, and a vehicle control instruction output unit 460 for outputting a vehicle control instruction for moving the vehicle along the parking path.

[0052] Fig. 5 is an exemplary view illustrating that the parking control device 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention determines a parking mode.

[0053] Fig. 5 is a view illustrating a process in which the parking control unit 110 mounted on the vehicle X detects a surrounding of the vehicle X by using the left ultrasonic sensor 131, the right ultrasonic sensor 132, and the camera 133, recognizes an area between two obstacles R1 and R3 located on the right side as a parking space PP, and determines a right parallel parking mode for parking the vehicle X in the recognized right parking space PP as a final parking mode.

[0054] When a driver presses the parking control switch 120, a parking control is started, and while the vehicle X moves between the left obstacles L1, L2 and L3 and the right obstacles R1 and R3 in an arrow direction, the left ultrasonic sensor 131 and the right ultrasonic sensor 132 detect the left area and the right area, and the camera 133 photographs the left area and the right area.

[0055] When the vehicle X passes points where the last left obstacle L3 and the last right obstacle R3 are located by a predetermined distance, the vehicle X stops moving, and the parking control unit 110 receives left ultrasonic data and right ultrasonic data from the left ultrasonic sensor 131 and the right ultrasonic sensor 132, respectively, and receives a left image and a right image from the camera 133.

[0056] The parking control unit 110 may analyze the left ultrasonic data and the right ultrasonic data (for example, analysis of a change in signal intensity) and may calculate distance values ​​D1, D12, D2, D23, D3, D1', D13', and D3' between a position where an obstacle is estimated to be present and the vehicle X.

[0057] The parking control unit 110 may analyze the left ultrasonic data and the right ultrasonic data (for example, analysis of a change in signal intensity) and may calculate gap values ​​W12, W23, and W13' between obstacles estimated to be present.

[0058] The parking control unit 110 can analyze the left ultrasonic data and the right ultrasonic data (for example, analyzing a change in signal intensity) and calculate the length of an obstacle. That is, the length of a section where a distance value is maintained constant as D3 can be calculated as the length of the obstacle.

[0059] When the calculated distance values ​​D1, D12, D23, D3, D1', D13', D3' are compared with each other, the parking control unit 110 can confirm that D1, D2, D3, D1', and D3' have the same or similar sizes within a predetermined range, and that D12, D23, and D13' are larger than D1, D2, D3, D1', and D3' by more than a predetermined value (for example, a vehicle width (2.3 m)) or a maximum set value or maximum default value.

[0060] When the calculated gap values ​​W12, W23, and W13' are compared with each other, the parking control unit 110 can confirm that W12 and W23 have the same or similar sizes within a predetermined range, and that W13' is larger than W12 and W23 and more than a predetermined value (for example, a vehicle length (4.5 m)).

[0061] Thus, the parking control unit 110 can judge that an area between the left obstacles L1 and L2 and an area between the left obstacles L2 and L3 is not a parking space PP in which the vehicle X can be parked, and that an area between the right obstacles R1 and R3 is a parking space PP in which the vehicle X can be parked, thereby judging that the parking space PP is located on the right side of the vehicle X.

[0062] The parking control unit 110 can judge that parallel parking is possible based on the fact that the detected size (for example, an entrance width W13') is more than a predetermined value (for example: a vehicle length (4.5 m)) of the detected parking space PP.

[0063] The assessed parking space PP may be an area where a single vehicle can be parked, and if the right obstacles R1 and R3 are vehicles parked at a right angle, then the determined parking space PP may be an area where two vehicles can be parked at a right angle.

[0064] Thus, to accurately classify them, a right image photographed by the camera 133 can be analyzed to identify the types and conditions of the right obstacles R1 and R3, and it can be determined that the right obstacles R1 and R3 are parallel-parked vehicles. Accordingly, the assessed parking space PP can be classified as an area where a single vehicle can be parallel-parked.

[0065] Through the process described above, the parking control unit 110 finally determines the right parallel parking mode as the parking mode.

[0066] Fig. 6 is another exemplary view illustrating that the parking control device 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention determines a parking mode.

[0067] Fig. 6 is identical to Fig. 5, except that the left obstacle L21 is a wall. Even in this case, since a distance value from the left obstacle L1 is constant as D1, it is judged that there is no parking space in the left area, and an area between the right obstacles R1 and R3 in the right area is determined as a parking space PP.

[0068] Fig. 7 is another exemplary view illustrating that the parking control device 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention determines a parking mode.

[0069] Fig. 7 is a view illustrating a process in which the parking control unit 110 mounted on the vehicle X detects a surrounding of the vehicle X by using the left ultrasonic sensor 131, the right ultrasonic sensor 132, and the camera 133, recognizes an area between two obstacles R1 and R3 located on the right side as a parking space PP, and determines a right perpendicular parking mode for parking the vehicle X in the recognized right parking space PP as a final parking mode.

[0070] When a driver presses the parking control switch 120, a parking control is started, and while the vehicle X moves between the left obstacles L1, L2 and L3 and the right obstacles R1 and R3 in an arrow direction, the left ultrasonic sensor 131 and the right ultrasonic sensor 132 detect the left area and the right area, and the camera 133 photographs the left area and the right area.

[0071] When the vehicle X passes a predetermined distance from the last obstacle L3 and the last right obstacle R3, the vehicle X stops moving, and the parking control unit 110 receives left ultrasonic data and right ultrasonic data from the left ultrasonic sensor 131 and the right ultrasonic sensor 132, respectively, and receives a left image and a right image from the camera 133.

[0072] The parking control unit 110 may analyze the left ultrasonic data and the right ultrasonic data (for example, analysis of a change in signal intensity) and may calculate distance values ​​D1, D12, D2, D23, D3, D1', D13', and D3' between a position where an obstacle is estimated to be present and the vehicle X.

[0073] The parking control unit 110 may analyze the left ultrasonic data and the right ultrasonic data (for example, analysis of a change in signal intensity) and may calculate gap values ​​W12, W23, and W13' between obstacles estimated to be present.

[0074] When the calculated distance values ​​D1, D12, D23, D3, D1', D13', D3' are compared with each other, the parking control unit 110 can confirm that D1, D2, D3, D1', and D3' have the same or similar sizes within a predetermined range, and that D12, D23, and D13' are larger than D1, D2, D3, D1', and D3' by more than a predetermined value (for example, a vehicle length (4.5 m)) or a maximum set value or maximum default value.

[0075] When the calculated gap values ​​W12, W23, and W13' are compared with each other, the parking control unit 110 can confirm that W12 and W23 have the same or similar sizes within a predetermined range, and that W13' is larger than W12 and W23 and more than a predetermined value (for example, a vehicle width (2.3 m)).

[0076] Thus, the parking control unit 110 can judge that an area between the left obstacles L1 and L2 and an area between the left obstacles L2 and L3 is not a parking space PP in which the vehicle X can be parked, and that an area between the right obstacles R1 and R3 is a parking space PP in which the vehicle X can be parked, thereby judging that the parking space PP is located on the right side of the vehicle X.

[0077] The parking control unit110 . can judge that perpendicular parking is possible due to the fact that the determined size (for example, an entrance width W13') is more than a predetermined value (for example: a vehicle width (2.3 m)) of the determined parking space PP and is less than another predetermined value (for example, a vehicle length (4.5 m)).

[0078] Through the above-described process, the parking control unit 110 finally determines the right perpendicular parking mode as the parking mode.

[0079] In contrast to Fig. 7, if the right obstacle R3 is not present, it can be confirmed that a parking space in the right area is wider than that of Fig. 7, in which case the judged parking space PP may be an area in which a single vehicle can be parallel parked, or when the right obstacle R1 is a vehicle parked at a right angle, the judged parking space PP may be an area in which two vehicles can be parked at a right angle.

[0080] Thus, to accurately classify them, a right-hand image photographed by the camera 133 can be analyzed to identify the types and conditions of the right-hand obstacle, and it can be determined that the right-hand obstacle R1 is a vehicle parked at a right angle. Accordingly, the assessed parking space PP can be classified as an area where two vehicles can be parked at a right angle.

[0081] Fig. 8 is another exemplary view illustrating that the parking control device 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention determines a parking mode.

[0082] Fig. 8 is identical to Fig. 7, except that the left obstacle L1 is a wall. Even in this case, since a distance value from the left obstacle L1 is constant as D1, it is judged that there is no parking space in the left area, and it is determined that an area between the right obstacles R1 and R3 in the right area is a parking space PP.

[0083] Hereinafter, a parking control method provided by the above-described parking control unit 110 will be briefly described.

[0084] Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a parking control method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0085] With reference to Fig. 9, the parking control method according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: receiving a parking control start signal through a parking control switch 120 (S900); controlling such that, when the parking control start signal is input while a vehicle is moving, a left area and a right area are detected by a left ultrasonic sensor 131 and a right ultrasonic sensor 132, and a left image for the left area and a right image for the right area are photographed by at least one camera 133 (S902);and judging whether there is an available parking space on the left or right side of the vehicle, and whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel, based on left ultrasonic data and the left image for the left area and right ultrasonic data and the right image for the right area, and determining a parking mode for parking the vehicle in the parking space according to the judgment result (S904).;

[0086] After the above-described step S904, the parking control method may further include calculating a parking path for moving and parking the vehicle in the parking space according to the set parking mode based on information obtained by analyzing ultrasonic data input by the ultrasonic sensors 131 and 132 and information obtained by analyzing an image photographed by the camera 133 (S906), and outputting a vehicle control instruction for moving the vehicle along the calculated parking path to actually execute parking control (S908).

[0087] Fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a parking control apparatus in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

[0088] With reference to Fig.10, the parking control device 1000 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention includes a parking control start signal input unit 1010 for receiving a parking control start signal through a parking control switch; a detection result input unit 1020 for receiving a detection result detected for a surrounding area of ​​the vehicle by a plurality of detection units; and a parking mode determination unit 1030 for judging whether an available parking space is located on the left or right side of the vehicle based on the input detection result and whether the vehicle should be parked in the parking space at a right angle or in parallel, and for determining a parking mode for parking the vehicle in the parking space according to the judgment result.

[0089] The plurality of detection units may include two or more ultrasonic sensors and may additionally include one or more cameras.

[0090] As described above, the present invention can detect a peripheral situation to automatically determine a parking mode only when a driver presses a parking control switch for starting parking control once, thereby eliminating a parking mode selection switch and eliminating inconvenience in an operation for selecting a parking mode by the driver.

[0091] Furthermore, the present invention can overcome limitations of ultrasonic sensors by also using a camera in addition to the ultrasonic sensors, thereby allowing obstacles to be detected more accurately and parking control to be performed more safely and accurately.

[0092] Although it has been described above that all components of an embodiment of the present invention are connected as a single unit or coupled so as to operate as a single unit, the present invention is not necessarily limited to such an embodiment. That is, one or more of the components can be selectively coupled to operate as one or more units. In addition, although each of the components can be implemented as independent hardware, some or all of the components can be selectively combined with one another so that they can be implemented as a computer program having one or more program modules for performing some or all of the functions combined in one or more hardware devices.Codes and code segments constituting the computer program can be easily designed by one of ordinary skill in the art. Such a computer program can implement the embodiments of the present invention by being stored in a computer-readable storage medium and read and executed by a computer. A magnetic recording medium, a visual recording medium, a carrier wave medium, or the like can be used as the storage medium.

[0093] Furthermore, since terms such as "comprise," "include," and "have" imply that one or more corresponding components or parts may exist, unless specifically described to the contrary, this should be interpreted to mean that one or more other components or parts may be included. All terminologies that include one or more technical or scientific terminologies have the same meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined.A term used in the conventional manner, such as a term defined by a dictionary, should be interpreted to have a meaning similar to that in the context of a related description and should not be interpreted to have an ideal or overly formal meaning unless clearly defined in the present specification.

[0094] Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, additions, and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by the embodiment. The scope of the present invention should be interpreted based on the appended claims, and it should be interpreted so that all the technical ideas included in the scope and equivalent to the claims belong to the present invention.

Claims

[1] Parking control device (110) comprising: a parking control start signal input unit for receiving a parking control start signal through a parking control switch (120); a detection control unit (420) for controlling such that, when the parking control start signal is input while a vehicle is moving, a left area and a right area are detected by a left ultrasonic sensor (131) and a right ultrasonic sensor (132), and a left image for the left area and a right image for the right area are photographed by at least one camera (133); and a parking mode determination unit (440) for judging whether there is an available parking space on the left or right side of the vehicle and whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel, based on left ultrasonic data and the left image for the left area and right ultrasonic data and the right image for the right area, and for determining a parking mode for parking the vehicle in the parking space according to the judgment result; characterized by , that the parking mode determination unit (440) judges that the vehicle should be parked at a right angle when a determined size of the available parking space is larger than a first predetermined value and smaller than a second predetermined value; and if the determined size of the available parking space is greater than the second predetermined value: the parking mode determination unit (440) judges that the vehicle should be parked at a right angle when a vehicle adjacent to the available parking space is parked at a right angle, and otherwise, the parking mode determination unit (440) judges that the vehicle should be parallel parked. [2] The parking control device (110) according to claim 1, wherein the parking mode determination unit (440) acquires information about a distance between the vehicle and an obstacle in the left area from the left ultrasonic data and recognizes the presence of an obstacle in the left area and a type of the obstacle through image analysis of the left image to judge whether the parking space is located on the left side of the vehicle, and acquires information about a distance between the vehicle and an obstacle in the right area from the right ultrasonic data and recognizes the presence of an obstacle in the right area and a type of the obstacle through image analysis of the right image to judge whether the parking space is located on the right side of the vehicle. [3] The parking control device (110) according to claim 2, wherein the parking mode determination unit (440), when judging that the parking space is located on the left side of the vehicle, acquires information about a size of the parking space from the left ultrasonic data and recognizes the presence of an obstacle in the left area, a type of the obstacle, and a state of the obstacle through image analysis of the left image to judge whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or in parallel in the parking space, and when judging that the parking space is located on the right side of the vehicle, acquires information about a size of the parking space from the right ultrasonic data.and detects the presence of an obstacle in the right area, a type of obstacle, and a state of the obstacle through image analysis of the right image to judge whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel in the parking space. [4] The parking control device (110) according to claim 3, wherein, during image analysis of the left image and the right image, the parking mode determination unit (440) sets a region of interest (ROI) having a predetermined size in the corresponding image, extracts an edge component from an image corresponding to the set ROI, acquires obstacle contour information based on the extracted edge component, and recognizes the presence of an obstacle, a type of the obstacle, and a state of the obstacle based on the acquired obstacle contour information. [5] The parking control device (110) according to claim 4, wherein the parking mode determining unit (440) compares various obstacle shape information stored in advance with the acquired obstacle contour information by a learning algorithm to recognize at least one of a presence of an obstacle, a type of the obstacle, and a state of the obstacle. [6] The parking control device (110) according to claim 1, wherein the parking mode determining unit (440) determines a left perpendicular parking mode as the parking mode when it is judged that the parking space is on the left side of the vehicle and the vehicle is to be parked at a right angle in the parking space; a right perpendicular parking mode as the parking mode when it is judged that the parking space is on the right side of the vehicle and the vehicle is to be parked at a right angle in the parking space; a left parallel parking mode as the parking mode when it is judged that the parking space is on the left side of the vehicle and the vehicle is to be parked parallel in the parking space;a right parallel parking mode is determined as the parking mode., [7] Parking control device (110) according to claim 1, further comprising: a parking path calculation unit (450) for calculating a parking path along which the vehicle is moved to be parked, according to the set parking mode; and a vehicle control instruction output unit (460) for outputting a vehicle control instruction for moving the vehicle along the parking path. [8] A parking control method provided by a parking control device (110), the parking control method comprising the steps of: Receiving a parking control start signal by a parking control switch (120); Controlling such that, when the parking control start signal is input while a vehicle is moving, a left area and a right area are detected by a left ultrasonic sensor (131) and a right ultrasonic sensor (132), and a left image for the left area and a right image for the right area are photographed by at least one camera (133); and Assess whether there is an available parking space on the left or right side of the vehicle, and whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel based on left ultrasonic data and the left image for the left area and right ultrasonic data and the right image for the right area, and determining a parking mode for parking the vehicle in the parking space according to the judgment result; characterized by , that it is judged that the vehicle should be parked at a right angle if a determined size of the available parking space is greater than a first predetermined value and less than a second predetermined value; and if the determined size of the available parking space is greater than the second predetermined value: it is judged that the vehicle should be parked at a right angle if a vehicle adjacent to the available parking space is parked at a right angle, and otherwise it is judged that the vehicle should be parallel parked. [9] Parking control system with: a parking control switch (120) for receiving a parking control start signal; a plurality of detection units (130) for detecting a surrounding of the vehicle while the vehicle is moving, in accordance with an input of the parking control start signal; and a parking control unit for judging whether there is an available parking space on the left or right side of the vehicle and whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or parallel in the parking space, based on detection results input from the plurality of detection units (130), for determining a parking mode for parking the vehicle in the parking space according to the judgment result, and for performing parking control such that the vehicle is moved to park in the parking space according to the set parking mode; characterized by , that the parking control unit judges that the vehicle should be parked at a right angle, if a determined size of the available parking space is greater than a first predetermined value and less than a second predetermined value; and if the determined size of the available parking space is greater than the second predetermined value: the parking control unit judges that the vehicle should be parked at a right angle if a vehicle adjacent to the available parking space is parked at a right angle, and otherwise, the parking control unit judges that the vehicle should be parallel parked. [10] Parking control device (110) comprising: a parking control start signal input unit (410) for receiving a parking control start signal through a parking control switch (120); a detection result input unit (430) that receives a detection result detected for a surrounding area of ​​a vehicle by a plurality of detection units (130); and a parking mode determination unit (440) for judging whether there is an available parking space on the left or right side of the vehicle and whether the vehicle should be parked at a right angle or in parallel in the parking space based on the detection results of the detection result input unit (430), and for determining a parking mode for parking the vehicle in the parking space according to the judgment result; characterized by , that the parking mode determination unit (440) assesses, that the vehicle should be parked at a right angle if a determined size of the available parking space is greater than a first predetermined value and less than a second predetermined value; and if the determined size of the available parking space is greater than the second predetermined value: the parking mode determination unit (440) judges that the vehicle should be parked at a right angle when a vehicle adjacent to the available parking space is parked at a right angle, and otherwise, the parking mode determination unit (440) judges that the vehicle should be parallel parked.

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