Method for operating an assistance system of a motor vehicle and vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating an assistance system of a motor vehicle (10) for locating possible parking spaces (12), wherein the surroundings (14) of the motor vehicle (10) and possible parking spaces (12) are determined by a surroundings sensor system (16) and wherein a signal is given when a possible parking space (12) is determined. In a method in which the reliability of finding a possible parking space (12) can be increased, it is provided that at least one piece of information about at least one possible parking space (12) is stored automatically or in a user-defined manner.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for operating an assistance system of a motor vehicle for locating possible parking spaces, wherein the surroundings of the motor vehicle and possible parking spaces are determined by an environment sensor system and wherein a signal is given when a possible parking space is determined.

[0002] In addition, the invention relates to a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, with at least one environmental sensor system and with at least one control unit with a memory unit.

[0003] Methods and devices for assisting the driver when parking a motor vehicle into a parking space are used in state-of-the-art motor vehicles. Such parking assistants are equipped with environmental sensors that collect data about the immediate surroundings of the motor vehicle and use this to determine possible parking spaces. The environmental sensors required for this are based, for example, on ultrasonic sensors, radar sensors, or imaging sensors, i.e., cameras or video cameras.

[0004] In addition, parking assistants are used to assist with parking a vehicle, making parking easier. For example, parking assistants are known that automatically maneuver a vehicle to the parking space at the driver's request and park the vehicle without the driver having to perform any action other than activating the parking process. Other methods provide the driver with a display of the driving trajectory during the parking process, allowing the driver to correct the maneuver. Furthermore, methods are known that, for example, provide the driver with instructions on how to operate the steering wheel, such as "turn the steering wheel to the left," while the vehicle is being parked in a garage or parking space.

[0005] In everyday life, the problem often arises that a suitable parking space must first be found. Finding a parking space is becoming increasingly difficult. Users typically want to park as close to their destination as possible. Therefore, if the user risks parking directly in front of their destination and there is no available parking space there, potential parking spaces that have already been identified are already discarded.

[0006] The invention is therefore based on the object of specifying a method for operating an assistance system of a motor vehicle and a vehicle in which the reliability of finding a possible parking space can be increased.

[0007] This object is achieved in the present invention by the features of the characterizing part of patent claim 1, firstly in that at least one piece of information about at least one suitable parking space is stored automatically or in a user-defined manner.

[0008] A potential parking space is a section of road where it is possible to park a vehicle. Various criteria can be used to define a potential parking space. These include, among other things, the accessibility and size of the section and, if applicable, a comparison with the dimensions of the vehicle.

[0009] This can also be used to signal additional information to the driver. It's conceivable that the type of parking space could be classified into different categories based on its size and position, making it clear to the driver whether, for example, the parking space is large enough for quick parking or whether maneuvering the vehicle into it would require considerable effort.

[0010] Signaling can be visual, acoustic, and / or haptic. Visual signaling is preferred. The presence of a potential parking space is indicated or signaled to the driver, for example, in a display area, such as a screen. In another embodiment, an acoustic signal is also emitted when a potential parking space is detected. This can be in the form of a voice announcement or a signal tone. Furthermore, in another embodiment, the detection of a potential parking space can be signaled or indicated by vibration, for example of the vehicle's steering wheel.

[0011] The information about the potential parking space primarily concerns the location, i.e., the position of the parking space. This can be a distance, but also an exact geolocation. It is conceivable that the aforementioned criteria could also be stored as information about the potential parking space.

[0012] The vehicle's environment is the area surrounding the vehicle, for example, a few meters around the vehicle. This area can be detected using environmental sensors. This system can include various sensors installed on the vehicle, such as ultrasonic sensors, radars, lidars, or cameras.

[0013] When information about a potential parking space is stored automatically, this is done automatically by a system in the vehicle. A parking assistance system can be provided for this purpose. This system uses a control unit to process and evaluate data from an installed sensor system, thus identifying possible parking spaces and storing them in the system's memory.

[0014] User-defined saving can mean both the user selecting a possible parking space in real time using an input device. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this is signaled by a display area and can be selected by the user. It is also conceivable that user-defined parameters are defined so that a number and type of possible parking space(s) specified by the user are saved.

[0015] The input device can, for example, be a display area of ​​a display device that can be operated using touch sensitivity. The display area of ​​the display device can be a display in the center area or in the cockpit area, for example in the vehicle's instrument cluster. In this display area, the driver of the vehicle is signaled that a possible parking space has been identified. The signal is provided visually by showing the possible parking space in the display area. Alternatively or additionally, the display area of ​​the display device can be designed as a head-up display. A head-up display is a display area in which the driver can maintain his head position or line of sight because the information is projected into his field of vision, for example onto the vehicle's windshield.

[0016] A three-dimensional space can be shown in the display area, which is preferably an area outside the vehicle. In a head-up display, the display area of ​​the display device or the three-dimensional space is equivalent to the view through the windshield. The three-dimensional space is then the space in front of the vehicle in the field of vision of the driver or front passenger. By means of a virtual element, which is displayed in a contact-analog manner, for example from the driver's perspective on the road, the driver of the vehicle is preferably shown an immersive representation of a possible parking space. This requires a transformation of the two-dimensional virtual element into three-dimensional coordinates. The three-dimensional coordinates calculated according to the virtual element can be Cartesian coordinates, for example.

[0017] The data sources required to calculate the coordinates can be of various types. These data sources are preferably vehicle data or navigation data recorded by the vehicle's positioning sensors, such as GPS, yaw rate sensors, or cameras.

[0018] It is also conceivable that the vehicle is shown from the first-person perspective in the display area, with the surroundings around the vehicle also being shown so that the driver of the vehicle gets a feeling for the distances and positions of the possible parking spaces.

[0019] Further preferred embodiments of the invention result from the remaining features mentioned in the subclaims.

[0020] In a first embodiment of the method according to the invention, at least one piece of information about a stored suitable parking space is discarded when another suitable parking space is determined. Generally, the vehicle is in motion when searching for a parking space. It can therefore be provided to only store a certain number of possible parking spaces, with information about the furthest parking space being deleted when another possible parking space is determined. In this way, the number of potential parking spaces is limited and the driver of the vehicle retains an overview. The deletion of information about the parking space can also be reflected in the information display.This means that the driver of the vehicle is shown the possible parking spaces by means of the display device, whereby the parking spaces further away are no longer displayed if the information about the parking space has been deleted.

[0021] It is conceivable that the driver of the vehicle can select user-defined favorites whose information is not deleted. For example, the driver of the vehicle could notice a possible parking space while searching for a parking space that would basically meet his needs, but he still wants to continue searching to see if there might be a parking space closer to his destination. By selecting the possible parking space as a favorite, the information about the possible parking space is not deleted, even if this possible parking space is the furthest away possible parking space in this scenario. The possible parking space is shown preferentially in the display area of ​​a display device. By selecting the possible parking space, for example using a touch-sensitive display device, an input from the vehicle driver is registered.The driver's selection is stored as a preferred possible parking space in a memory unit of the vehicle, for example a control unit or the display device.

[0022] In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, it is provided that information about suitable parking spaces that are located outside a predetermined first radius, in particular outside a first radius of 30 m, is discarded. It is conceivable that the driver of a vehicle is looking for a parking space within a certain radius of their destination. In doing so, side streets are preferably selected instead of driving too far on a main road in a direction that would lead the vehicle away from the destination. By deleting only the information about possible parking spaces that are located outside a predetermined radius, the probability is increased that the driver of the vehicle can select a possible parking space that is within a radius that is acceptable to them.

[0023] In a further advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, the predetermined first radius is increased when it is detected that the vehicle is located in an area for parking multiple vehicles, in particular a parking lot, parking garage or parking strip. If the vehicle is located in a section with, for example, several rows of parking spaces, it is often necessary to drive through several of these rows until a suitable parking space is found. This involves frequent changes of direction, so that the actual radius of the area traversed by the vehicle is comparatively small. By increasing the first radius, for example, the entire section for parking can be included.

[0024] Additionally or alternatively, a further embodiment of the invention can provide for a navigation route to be set and for possible parking spaces within a predetermined second radius around a destination of the navigation route to be automatically determined and stored. Since the driver of the vehicle will most likely want to park the vehicle near the set destination, the predetermined second radius around the destination allows information about the most attractive possible parking spaces for the driver to be stored.

[0025] In a further embodiment of the method, it can also be provided that only possible parking spaces on the side of the road on which the destination is located are determined and stored. This procedure increases convenience for the driver. If the vehicle can be parked on the side of the road on which the destination is located, the driver does not have to cross the road to reach their destination. This increases driver safety if there is no pedestrian crossing near the destination, and also saves the driver time, as they do not have to use a remote pedestrian crossing to cross the road on which the destination is located.

[0026] In a further advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, it is provided that information about locations at which the vehicle has been located at a predetermined number of times is stored, and that possible parking spaces within a predetermined third radius around such a location are automatically determined and stored. In this way, the driver's convenience can be further increased. If the vehicle is frequently located in one location, for example close to the driver's home, and no dedicated parking space is available, possible parking spaces can be automatically registered and stored if the driver is near such a location, since the probability is increased that the vehicle will be parked near this location.

[0027] Advantageously, a further embodiment of the invention provides that the distance of a possible parking space from the vehicle is determined using odometry and / or GPS. Using odometry, the actual distance to a possible parking space can be determined when the vehicle moves away from this possible parking space. At the same time or alternatively, by marking the possible parking space using GPS coordinates, the possible parking space can also be stored over a greater distance that can no longer be detected by odometry and / or environmental sensors.

[0028] Additionally or alternatively, a further embodiment of the method according to the invention can provide for information about a possible parking space to be transmitted via C2X communication. Modern vehicles are often equipped with C2X radio modules to exchange standardized messages with each other and with the infrastructure. Examples of this are the CAM (Cooperative Awareness Message) or DENM (Decentralized Environmental Notification Message) of the ETSI standard for C2X communication. Through transmission via C2X communication, for example, from other road users or parts of the surrounding infrastructure, the vehicle can receive information about possible parking spaces.

[0029] Car2X data is a technology that allows vehicles to communicate with their environment, i.e., "X." A special Car2Car variant of the Car2X system allows vehicles to communicate with each other. Transmission is possible in both directions with Car2X. Consequently, the vehicle can communicate with its environment and / or the environment with the vehicle. Sensor data is preferably transmitted during communication. It is conceivable that Car2X communication will be implemented via a Wi-Fi connection.

[0030] The infrastructure can be traffic lights or, for example, cameras used to monitor road traffic or parking areas.

[0031] The aforementioned object is also achieved by a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, having at least one environmental sensor system and at least one control unit having a memory unit. It is provided that a method according to the invention can be carried out by the vehicle. The above statements regarding the method according to the invention also apply accordingly to the vehicle according to the invention. Possible parking spaces are determined by means of the environmental sensor system. The discovery of such a possible parking space is signaled to the driver of the vehicle, for example acoustically or visually by means of a signal emitted by the control unit, which is forwarded to a corresponding device, for example a display device, in order to transmit a signal in the form of a visual display to the driver of the vehicle.It is possible for the detected parking space to be automatically saved, i.e., information about the potential parking space is stored in the memory unit. Alternatively or additionally, the vehicle driver can save user-defined information about a potential parking space by inputting it, i.e., transfer the information about this parking space to the memory unit. For this purpose, an aforementioned input device is preferably provided, for example, in the form of a display device with a display area that registers the user command of the vehicle driver or another vehicle occupant.

[0032] Electronic or electrical devices, such as the controller and memory unit and / or other relevant devices or components according to the embodiments of the present invention described herein, may be implemented using any suitable hardware, firmware (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit), software, or a combination of software, firmware, and hardware. For example, the various components of these devices may be packaged on an integrated circuit (IC) or on separate IC chips. Furthermore, the various components of these devices may be implemented on a flexible printed circuit board, a tape carrier package (TCP), a printed circuit board (PCB), or on a single substrate.Furthermore, the various components of these devices may be a process or thread running on one or more processors in one or more computing devices, executing computer program instructions and interacting with other system components to perform the various functions described herein. The computer program instructions are stored in memory, which may be implemented in a computing device using standard memory, such as random access memory (RAM). The computer program instructions may also be stored in other non-transferable, computer-readable media, such as a CD-ROM, a flash drive, or the like.A person of ordinary skill in the art should also recognize that the functionality of various computing devices may be combined or integrated into a single computing device, or that the functionality of a particular computing device may be distributed among one or more other computing devices without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

[0033] The various embodiments of the invention mentioned in this application can be advantageously combined with one another, unless stated otherwise in the individual case.

[0034] The invention is explained below in exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. They show: Fig. 1 a schematic representation of the implementation of a method according to the invention for operating an assistance system of a motor vehicle for finding possible parking spaces, Fig. 2 the procedure according to Fig. 1, where information about possible parking spaces was deleted, Fig. 3 the procedure according to the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, where a possible parking space is selected as a favorite and Fig. 4 the procedure according to Fig. 1 to 3, with the preferred parking space still selected.

[0035] Fig. 1 schematically shows the implementation of a method for operating an assistance system of a motor vehicle 10 for locating possible parking spaces 12. For this purpose, the surroundings 14 of the motor vehicle 10 and possible parking spaces 12 are determined by an environmental sensor system 16. In the present exemplary embodiment, information is stored about several possible parking spaces 12 that are located within a first radius 18. The motor vehicle 10 is located in an area 20 for parking several vehicles, i.e., a parking strip that can be used from both sides of the road 22.

[0036] It can be seen that motor vehicle 10 is driving along a row of parking spaces with the intention of parking as close as possible to a destination 24. A visualization used for this purpose is shown in the lower right corner in the display area 26 of a display device. The detected possible parking spaces 12 are displayed in the display area 26. The display is in the form of a top view with motor vehicle 10 in a first-person perspective, which continuously moves with the vehicle's movement. Additionally, the possible parking spaces 12 are displayed in the form of a list 28.

[0037] The display area 26 is a touch-sensitive display located in the cockpit area of ​​the center console. The driver of the motor vehicle 10 can thus make settings directly in the display area.

[0038] Fig. 2 shows that the motor vehicle 10 continues to travel toward the destination 24. However, the driver's wish to find a parking space as close as possible to the destination 24 is not fulfilled because all parking spaces are occupied. Since the previously detected possible parking spaces 12 are no longer within the first radius 18, the information about these detected possible parking spaces 12 has been discarded, so that no possible parking spaces 12 are displayed for selection in the display area 26. Thus, it is no longer possible for the driver to activate parking assistance.

[0039] Fig. 3 shows that, to assist the driver, the view in display area 26 is expanded to include the option of marking identified possible parking spaces 12 as favorites 30. In the present exemplary embodiment, this is done by tapping a star symbol, whereby the star symbol is visually filled with a color when tapped. By marking it as a favorite 30, the possible parking space 12 is stored in the parking assistance system for the longer term. This is possible until the uncertainties in the vehicle odometry and environmental sensors have accumulated to such an extent that reliable retrieval of the possible parking space 12 can no longer be guaranteed. However, the possible distance for storage is sufficient to be able to reliably select a saved possible parking space 12 again, even on a long stretch of road.

[0040] Fig.Figure 4 shows that if the driver cannot find a better possible parking space 12 at the destination 24, they can still select the possible parking space 12 saved in the list 28 as favorite 30 and, for example, activate the parking assistance. The possible parking spaces 12 saved as favorite 30 always remain visible at the top of the list, even if additional possible parking spaces 12 are found. As soon as the driver marks another parking space as favorite 30, the previously saved favorite is deleted or a second favorite is added to the list, depending on the function.

[0041] In this exemplary embodiment, information about a possible parking space is transmitted via C2X communication 32. Modern vehicles are often equipped with C2X radio modules to exchange standardized messages with each other and with the infrastructure. Examples of this are the CAM (Cooperative Awareness Message) or DENM (Decentralized Environmental Notification Message) of the ETSI standard for C2X communication. Through transmission via C2X communication 32, for example, by other road users or parts of the surrounding infrastructure, the motor vehicle 10 can receive information about possible parking spaces 12. List of reference symbols 10 motor vehicle 12 possible parking spaces 14 Environment 16 Environmental sensors 18 first radius 20 Area for parking multiple vehicles 22 Street side 24 Destination 26 Display area 28 List 30 Favorite 32 C2X Communication

Claims

[1] Method for operating an assistance system of a motor vehicle (10) for locating possible parking spaces (12), wherein the surroundings (14) of the motor vehicle (10) and possible parking spaces (12) are determined by an environment sensor system (16), wherein a signal is given when a possible parking space (12) is determined, and wherein at least one item of information about at least one possible parking space (12) is stored automatically or in a user-defined manner. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that at least one piece of information about a stored possible parking space (12) is discarded when another possible parking space is determined. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that information about possible parking spaces (12) which are located outside a predetermined first radius (18), in particular outside a first radius (18) of 30 m, is discarded. [4] Method according to claim 3, characterized bythat the predetermined first radius (18) is increased when it is detected that the motor vehicle (10) is located in an area (20) for parking several vehicles, in particular a parking lot, parking garage or parking strip. [5] Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by that a navigation route is set and that possible parking spaces (12) in a predetermined second radius around a destination of the navigation route are automatically determined and stored. [6] Method according to claim 5, characterized by that only possible parking spaces (12) on a side of the road (22) on which the destination (24) is located are determined and stored. [7] Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized bythat information about locations at which the vehicle (10) has been located at a predetermined number of times is stored, and that possible parking spaces (12) in a predetermined third radius around such a location are automatically determined and stored. [8] Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by that the distance of a possible parking space (12) to the motor vehicle (10) is determined by means of odometry and / or GPS. [9] Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by that information about a possible parking space (12) is transmitted by means of C2X communication (32). [10] Motor vehicle (10) with at least one environmental sensor system (16) and with at least one control unit with a memory unit, characterized by that a method according to one of claims 1 to 9 can be carried out by the vehicle.

Images