Driving support device

Abstract

To provide a driving support device which can communicate with a terminal of a user in a state that positional specification accuracy is sufficiently guaranteed.SOLUTION: A driving support device performs driving support to a vehicle in accordance with an instruction from a terminal possessed by a user of the vehicle. The driving support device includes: a detection section which detects a shield on a side of the vehicle on the basis of peripheral information on the vehicle obtained by at least one of a sensor which searches the surrounding of the vehicle with acoustic waves or electromagnetic waves and a camera which photographs the surrounding of the vehicle; a transmission / reception section which generates positional information on the terminal on the basis of a communication result obtained by communication by performing short-range radio communication with the terminal; and a movement control section which performs movement control to deliver the vehicle from a parking area where the vehicle is parked while identifying a present position of the user on the basis of the positional information. A determination section starts the use of the positional information in the movement control at timing when a shield is not detected in accordance with the movement control of the vehicle when the shield is detected on the side of the vehicle at first.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving assistance device. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a driving support device that provides driving support when a vehicle enters and leaves a parking lot. For example, the technology of Patent Document 1 uses a short-range wireless communication technology such as UWB (Ultra Wide Band) to communicate with a terminal carried by a user who has exited the vehicle, thereby improving the accuracy of identifying the user's current location and improving the functionality of the driving support device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2021-511751 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when exiting a narrow parking area, there may be many obstructions around the vehicle, reducing the accuracy of locating the user using UWB or other methods, and, for example, the distance between the vehicle and the user may not be calculated correctly.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and provides a driving assistance device that can communicate with a user's terminal while ensuring sufficient position identification accuracy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a driving assistance device of an embodiment is a driving assistance device that provides driving assistance to a vehicle in accordance with instructions from a terminal carried by a user of the vehicle, and includes: a detection unit that detects an obstruction to the side of the vehicle based on peripheral information of the vehicle obtained by at least one of a sensor that searches the surroundings of the vehicle with sound waves or electromagnetic waves and a camera that captures the surroundings of the vehicle; a transmission / reception unit that performs short-range wireless communication with the terminal and generates position information of the terminal based on a communication result obtained by the communication; a movement control unit that performs movement control to cause the vehicle to leave a parking area in which the vehicle is parked while identifying a current position of the user based on the position information; and a determination unit that determines the timing to start using the position information in the movement control based on the detection result of the detection unit, and the determination unit starts using the position information in the movement control at a timing when the obstruction is no longer detected in conjunction with the movement control of the vehicle when the obstruction is initially detected to the side of the vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The driving assistance device of the embodiment can communicate with the user's terminal while ensuring sufficient position identification accuracy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a top view of a vehicle equipped with a driving support device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of the driving assistance system according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the driving assistance device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the driving assistance operation performed by the driving assistance device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the driving assistance operation performed by the driving assistance device according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the driving assistance operation performed by the driving assistance device according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the driving assistance operation performed by the driving assistance device according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the driving assistance operation performed by the driving assistance device according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the driving assistance operation performed by the driving assistance device according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a procedure of the driving assistance process performed by the driving assistance device according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of driving assistance performed by the driving assistance device according to the first modification of the embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of driving assistance performed by the driving assistance device according to the second modification of the embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of driving assistance performed by the driving assistance device according to the third modification of the embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of driving assistance performed by the driving assistance device according to the third modification of the embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of driving assistance performed by the driving assistance device according to the third modification of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Similar components in the following exemplary embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted as appropriate.

[0010] (Vehicle configuration example) Fig. 1 is a top view of a vehicle 10 equipped with a driving support device 20 according to an embodiment. The front, rear, left and right of the vehicle 10 in Fig. 1 indicate directions when viewed from the driver's seat of the vehicle 10.

[0011] The vehicle 10 of the embodiment may be, for example, an internal combustion engine vehicle using an internal combustion engine as a power source, an electric vehicle or a fuel cell vehicle using an electric motor as a power source, or a hybrid vehicle using both of these as a power source.

[0012] The vehicle 10 can be equipped with various transmissions and various systems, parts, and other devices required to drive the internal combustion engine or electric motor. The type, number, layout, and other aspects of the devices related to the drive of the wheels 13 of the vehicle 10 can be set in various ways.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 1, a vehicle 10 includes a vehicle body 12, a plurality of wheels 13, a plurality of distance measuring units 14a-14l, a plurality of imaging units 16a-16d, and a plurality of antennas 19a-19d. When it is not necessary to distinguish between the distance measuring units 14a-14l, they will be simply referred to as distance measuring unit 14. When it is not necessary to distinguish between the imaging units 16a-16d, they will be simply referred to as imaging unit 16. When it is not necessary to distinguish between the antennas 19a-19d, they will be simply referred to as antenna 19.

[0014] The vehicle body 12 constitutes a vehicle cabin in which passengers ride. A plurality of wheels 13, a plurality of distance measuring units 14, a plurality of imaging units 16, and a plurality of antennas 19 are attached to the vehicle body 12. In the example of Fig. 1, the vehicle body 12 includes four wheels 13, twelve distance measuring units 14, four imaging units 16, and four antennas 19. However, the number of distance measuring units 14, imaging units 16, and antennas 19 attached to the vehicle body 12 is arbitrary.

[0015] The four wheels 13 are provided on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle body 12. The two front wheels 13 function, for example, as steering wheels, and the two rear wheels 13 function, for example, as driving wheels.

[0016] The distance measuring unit 14 as a sensor is, for example, a sonar provided on the outer periphery of the vehicle 10, which transmits sound waves such as ultrasonic waves as detection waves and captures the detection waves reflected by objects such as obstacles present around the vehicle 10. The distance measuring unit 14 may be a radar that transmits electromagnetic waves such as laser light, a millimeter wave radar, or the like.

[0017] The distance measuring unit 14 collects surrounding information, which is information about the surroundings of the vehicle 10, and outputs it to the driving assistance device 20. The distance measuring unit 14 collects, for example, a response time, which is the time from when a detection wave is transmitted to when it is received, as surrounding information for identifying the distance between an object and the vehicle 10. Based on the surrounding information collected by the distance measuring unit 14, the driving assistance device 20 can detect the presence or absence of an obstacle or the like around the vehicle 10 and the distance to the obstacle.

[0018] In addition, when the distance measuring unit 14 receives multiple detection waves reflected from multiple points on the object in response to a single transmission of a detection wave, the distance measuring unit 14 may include only the response time of the earliest received detection wave in the surrounding information.

[0019] The distance measuring units 14a to 14d are provided at the front of the vehicle body 12. Of these distance measuring units 14a to 14d, the distance measuring units 14b and 14c are also called front sonars, and are provided at the front end of the vehicle 10. The distance measuring units 14b and 14c detect objects in front of the vehicle 10 and collect peripheral information in front of the vehicle 10. The distance measuring units 14a and 14d are also called corner sonars, and are provided at the corners of the front of the vehicle 10. The distance measuring units 14a and 14d detect objects on the outside in front of the vehicle 10 and collect peripheral information on the outside in front of the vehicle 10.

[0020] The distance measuring units 14e to 14h are provided at the rear of the vehicle body 12. Of these distance measuring units 14e to 14h, the distance measuring units 14f and 14g are also called rear sonars, and are provided at the rear end of the vehicle 10. The distance measuring units 14f and 14g detect objects behind the vehicle 10 and collect peripheral information behind the vehicle 10. The distance measuring units 14e and 14h are also called corner sonars, and are provided at the corners of the rear of the vehicle 10. The distance measuring units 14e and 14h detect objects on the outside behind the vehicle 10 and collect peripheral information behind the vehicle 10.

[0021] The distance measuring units 14i to 14l are also called side sonars, and are provided on the sides of the vehicle body 12. Of the distance measuring units 14i to 14l, the distance measuring units 14i and 14j are provided on the front sides of the vehicle 10. The distance measuring units 14k and 14l are provided on the rear sides of the vehicle 10. The distance measuring units 14i to 14l detect objects on the sides of the vehicle 10 and collect peripheral information on the sides of the vehicle 10.

[0022] The imaging unit 16 as a camera is a digital camera having an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CIS (CMOS Image Sensor), etc. The imaging unit 16 generates a moving image including a plurality of frame images captured at a predetermined frame rate, or a still image.

[0023] The imaging units 16 are provided on the outer periphery of the vehicle body 12, each having a wide-angle lens or a fisheye lens, and can capture an image in a horizontal range of, for example, 140° to 190°. The optical axis of the imaging unit 16 is set to face diagonally downward.

[0024] As a result, the imaging unit 16 collects surrounding information by capturing images of the surroundings of the vehicle 10, including the road surface, and outputs the collected information to the driving assistance device 20. The driving assistance device 20 can detect the presence or absence of obstacles, etc., around the vehicle 10 and the positions of the obstacles, based on the surrounding information collected by the imaging unit 16. The driving assistance device 20 can also detect parking spaces around the vehicle 10 and the positions of the parking spaces, based on the surrounding information collected by the imaging unit 16.

[0025] The imaging unit 16a is provided in the center in the left-right direction of the front end of the vehicle body 12, for example, on the front bumper. The imaging unit 16a collects captured images of the area in front of the vehicle 10 as peripheral information. The imaging unit 16b is provided in the center in the left-right direction of the rear end of the vehicle body 12, for example, on the rear bumper. The imaging unit 16b collects captured images of the area behind the vehicle 10 as peripheral information.

[0026] The imaging unit 16c is provided in the center in the front-rear direction of the left end of the vehicle body 12, for example, on the left side mirror. The imaging unit 16c collects captured images of the left side of the vehicle 10 as peripheral information. The imaging unit 16d is provided in the center in the front-rear direction of the right end of the vehicle body 12, for example, on the right side mirror. The imaging unit 16d collects captured images of the surroundings to the right of the vehicle 10 as peripheral information.

[0027] The antenna 19 communicates with a mobile terminal or the like carried by a user such as a driver of the vehicle 10. As an example, communication with the user's mobile terminal is performed by ultra-wideband wireless communication (UWB: Ultra Wide Band) using an extremely wide frequency band of several MHz to several GHz. UWB is a communication technology that enables highly accurate positioning.

[0028] As described later, the driving assistance device 20 obtains location information for identifying the location of the mobile terminal based on the communication result between the antenna 19 and the mobile terminal. In addition, when providing driving assistance for the vehicle 10 to leave the parking area, the driving assistance device 20 stops the vehicle 10 at a location according to the location of the driver or the like who has dismounted from the vehicle 10, based on the location information of the mobile terminal from the antenna 19.

[0029] The antennas 19a to 19d are provided, for example, at the four corners of the vehicle 10. More specifically, the antennas 19a and 19b are provided at the corners of the front of the vehicle 10. The antennas 19a and 19b may be provided between the distance measuring units 14a and 14i and between the distance measuring units 14d and 14j, respectively, and mainly search the front outer area of ​​the vehicle 10 and communicate with the driver's mobile terminal. The antennas 19c and 19d are provided at the corners of the rear of the vehicle 10. The antennas 19c and 19d may be provided between the distance measuring units 14e and 14k and between the distance measuring units 14h and 14l, respectively, and search the rear outer area of ​​the vehicle 10 and communicate with the driver's mobile terminal.

[0030] (Example of a driving assistance system configuration) 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the driving assistance system 200 according to the embodiment. The driving assistance system 200 is mounted on, for example, the vehicle 10, and remotely performs driving assistance such as entering or leaving a parking area for the vehicle 10 when the driver has dismounted from the vehicle 10.

[0031] 2, the driving assistance system 200 includes a driving assistance device 20, a monitor device 30, a braking system 40, an acceleration system 50, a steering system 60, a gear shift system 70, a vehicle speed sensor 83, a distance measurement unit 14, an imaging unit 16, and an antenna 19. These components are connected to each other via an in-vehicle network NT so as to be able to transmit and receive information to and from each other.

[0032] The in-vehicle network NT includes, for example, a Controller Area Network (CAN) and a Local Interconnect Network (LIN), etc. The in-vehicle network NT may be included as a part of the driving assistance system 200.

[0033] In addition, the driving assistance system 200 communicates with a mobile terminal 100 carried by a user, such as the driver of the vehicle 10, using the above-mentioned UWB or the like, and is connected to the mobile terminal 100 so that information can be sent and received between them via a wireless line, such as the Internet.

[0034] The driving assistance device 20 is configured as a microcomputer such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), and performs driving assistance for the vehicle 10.

[0035] The driving assistance device 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a communication control circuit 22, a display control circuit 23, an SSD (Solid State Drive) 24, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 25, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 26. The CPU 21, the ROM 25, and the RAM 26 may be integrated in the same package.

[0036] The CPU 21 is an example of a hardware processor, which reads out a program stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the ROM 25, and executes various types of arithmetic processing and control in accordance with the program.

[0037] The ROM 25 stores various programs and parameters necessary for executing the programs. The RAM 26 temporarily stores various data used in the calculations by the CPU 21. The SSD 24 is a rewritable non-volatile storage device, and maintains data even when the power of the driving support device 20 is turned off.

[0038] Of the arithmetic processing performed by the driving support device 20, the communication control circuit 22 mainly executes processing related to sending and receiving information to and from the mobile terminal 100. Of the arithmetic processing performed by the driving support device 20, the display control circuit 23 mainly executes image processing of images obtained by the imaging unit 16, data conversion of images to be displayed on a display unit 31 (described later) included in the monitor device 30, and the like.

[0039] The braking system 40 has a braking unit 41 , a braking control unit 42 , and a braking unit sensor 43 , and controls the deceleration of the vehicle 10 .

[0040] The braking unit 41 is, for example, a device including a brake and a brake pedal, and decelerates the vehicle 10. The braking control unit 42 is, for example, a microcomputer having a hardware processor such as a CPU. The braking control unit 42 controls the braking unit 41 based on an instruction from the driving support device 20 to control the deceleration of the vehicle 10. The braking unit sensor 43 is, for example, a position sensor, and detects the position of a brake pedal included in the braking unit 41. The braking unit sensor 43 outputs the detected brake pedal position to the in-vehicle network NT.

[0041] The acceleration system 50 has an acceleration unit 51 , an acceleration control unit 52 , and an acceleration sensor 53 , and controls the acceleration of the vehicle 10 .

[0042] The acceleration unit 51 is a device including, for example, an accelerator pedal and the like, and accelerates the vehicle 10. The acceleration control unit 52 is, for example, a microcomputer having a hardware processor such as a CPU. The acceleration control unit 52 controls the acceleration unit 51 based on an instruction from the driving support device 20 to control the acceleration of the vehicle 10. The acceleration sensor 53 is, for example, a position sensor, and detects the position of the accelerator pedal included in the acceleration unit 51. The acceleration sensor 53 outputs the detected position of the accelerator pedal to the in-vehicle network NT.

[0043] The steering system 60 has a steering section 61, a steering control section 62, and a steering section sensor 63, and controls the direction of travel of the vehicle 10.

[0044] The steering unit 61 is a device including, for example, a steering wheel, and steers the steered wheels of the vehicle 10 to steer the traveling direction of the vehicle 10. The steering control unit 62 is a microcomputer including, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU. The steering control unit 62 controls the steering unit 61 based on instructions from the driving support device 20 to control the traveling direction of the vehicle 10. The steering unit sensor 63 is an angle sensor including, for example, a Hall element, and detects the steering angle, which is the rotation angle of the steering unit 61. The steering unit sensor 63 outputs the detected steering angle of the steering unit 61 to the in-vehicle network NT.

[0045] The transmission system 70 has a transmission section 71, a transmission control section 72, and a transmission section sensor 73, and controls the gear ratio of the vehicle 10.

[0046] The transmission unit 71 is a device including, for example, a shift lever and the like, and changes the gear ratio of the vehicle 10. The transmission control unit 72 is a microcomputer having a hardware processor such as a CPU. The transmission control unit 72 controls the transmission unit 71 based on instructions from the driving assistance device 20 to control the gear ratio of the vehicle 10. The transmission unit sensor 73 is, for example, a position sensor, and detects the position of a shift lever included in the transmission unit 71. The transmission sensor 73 outputs the detected position of the shift lever to the in-vehicle network NT.

[0047] The vehicle speed sensor 83 has, for example, a Hall element provided near the wheel 13 of the vehicle 10, and detects the amount of rotation or the number of rotations per unit time of the wheel 13. The vehicle speed sensor 83 outputs the number of wheel speed pulses indicating the detected amount of rotation or number of rotations to the in-vehicle network NT as a sensor value for calculating the speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle 10. The driving assistance device 20 can calculate the speed, movement amount, etc. of the vehicle 10 based on the sensor value acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 83.

[0048] The monitor device 30 is provided on a dashboard or the like inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10 , and has a display unit 31 and an input unit 32 .

[0049] The display unit 31 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic electroluminescent display (OLED). The display unit 31 displays, for example, an image based on image data transmitted by the driving assistance device 20, an image for receiving an operation instruction for switching between automatic driving and manual driving, and the like.

[0050] The input unit 32 is, for example, a touch panel provided on the display screen of the display unit 31. The input unit 32 is configured to be transparent to the contents displayed on the display screen of the display unit 31. This allows the input unit 32 to allow the occupant to visually recognize the display contents of the display unit 31.

[0051] The input unit 32 receives instructions input by the occupant touching a position corresponding to the display content of the display unit 31, and transmits the instructions to the driving support device 20 via the in-vehicle network NT. Note that the input unit 32 is not limited to a touch panel, and may be a hard switch such as a push button.

[0052] The mobile terminal 100 is a computer including a CPU 111, a communication control circuit 112, an input / output control circuit 113, an SSD 114, a ROM 115, and a RAM 116. The mobile terminal 100 also includes an output unit 117 and an input unit 118, as well as an antenna 119 capable of communicating with the driving assistance system 200 by UWB or the like. The mobile terminal 100 is held by a user such as a driver of the vehicle 10, and is configured to be portable by the user. As an example, the mobile terminal 100 may be a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, or the like.

[0053] The CPU 111 is an example of a hardware processor, which reads out a program stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the ROM 115, and executes various types of arithmetic processing and control in accordance with the program.

[0054] The ROM 115 stores various programs and parameters necessary for executing the programs. The RAM 116 temporarily stores various data used in the calculations by the CPU 11. The SSD 114 is a rewritable non-volatile storage device, and maintains data even when the power of the mobile terminal 100 is turned off.

[0055] The communication control circuit 112 executes, among the arithmetic processing performed by the mobile terminal 100, processing mainly related to sending and receiving information to and from the driving support device 20. The input / output control circuit 113 outputs information and notifications related to driving support from the driving support device 20 that are received by the communication control circuit 112 to the output unit 117. The input / output control circuit 113 also accepts operation details input from the input unit 118 and transmits them from the communication control circuit 112 to the driving support device 20.

[0056] The output unit 117 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The output unit 117 displays, for example, an image based on image data transmitted by the driving support device 20 and an image for receiving an operation instruction related to driving support. The output unit 117 may include a speaker capable of outputting a voice, an alarm, or the like.

[0057] The input unit 118 is, for example, a touch panel or the like provided on the output unit 117, which is a display device or the like. The input unit 118 accepts instructions input by the user touching a position corresponding to the display content of the display device. Note that the input unit 118 may also include push button type hardware switches such as a keyboard.

[0058] As described above, the antenna 119 performs wireless communication with the antenna 19 provided in the driving assistance system 200 by, for example, UWB or the like, and allows the driving assistance system 200 to acquire location information of the mobile terminal 100.

[0059] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the driving support device 20 according to the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 3, the driving support device 20 includes a display control unit 201, a notification generating unit 202, a transmitting / receiving unit 203, an acquiring unit 204, a detecting unit 205, a route calculating unit 206, a movement control unit 207, and a determining unit 208 as functional units.

[0060] These functional units are realized, for example, by the above-mentioned CPU 21 reading and executing a program stored in a storage device such as the ROM 25. Alternatively, they are realized by the communication control circuit 22, the display control circuit 23, the SSD 24, etc. operating under the control of the CPU 21 according to the program.

[0061] Some or all of these functional units may be configured by hardware such as a circuit including an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0062] The display control unit 201 generates contents to be displayed on the display unit 31 of the monitor device 30, and causes the contents to be displayed on the display unit 31. That is, the display control unit 201 causes the display unit 31 to display, for example, a notification screen that a parking area in which the vehicle 10 can be parked has been detected, a selection screen for starting, pausing, or canceling driving assistance, an image of the surroundings of the vehicle 10 during driving assistance, and the like.

[0063] The notification generating unit 202 generates a notification regarding driving assistance to be transmitted to the mobile terminal 100. That is, the notification generating unit 202 generates notification content for the user, such as the start, interruption, or cancellation of driving assistance.

[0064] The transmitting / receiving unit 203 transmits and receives information to and from the mobile terminal 100. The transmitting and receiving of information to and from the mobile terminal 100 by the transmitting and receiving unit 203 includes, as described above, sending and receiving various information via the Internet or the like, and transmitting and receiving using UWB or the like to obtain location information of the mobile terminal 100 via each other's antennas 19, 119.

[0065] By transmitting and receiving information via the Internet or the like, the transmitting and receiving unit 203 transmits the notification generated by the notification generating unit 202 to the mobile terminal 100. In addition, the transmitting and receiving unit 203 receives from the mobile terminal 100 an operation instruction or the like from the user in response to the transmitted notification.

[0066] Furthermore, from a communication result by antenna 19 using UWB or the like, transmitting / receiving unit 203 generates location information for identifying the location of mobile terminal 100. The location information of mobile terminal 100 is information indicating the location of mobile terminal 100 based on, for example, radio waves emitted by mobile terminal 100 or an operation signal of mobile terminal 100 by a user.

[0067] The acquisition unit 204 acquires, as peripheral information of the vehicle 10, sound wave transmission / reception information from the distance measurement unit 14 and captured images of the periphery of the vehicle 10 from the imaging unit 16. The acquisition unit 204 also acquires the results of communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the antenna 19.

[0068] The detection unit 205 detects obstacles, parking spaces, parking areas, and the like around the vehicle 10 based on the surrounding information acquired by the acquisition unit 204 .

[0069] The obstacle may be, for example, various objects such as other vehicles, walls, pillars, fences, protrusions, steps, wheel chocks, etc. In addition, the obstacle may be, for example, a person walking in a parking lot, a driver who gets off the vehicle 10 during remote driving assistance, etc.

[0070] A parking space is an area provided for parking the vehicle 10, and is defined by, for example, a partition line, a frame line, a straight line, a strip, a step, etc. A parking space is a parking space in which the vehicle 10 can be parked, that is, a parking space in which there are no obstacles, such as other vehicles, that would impede parking of the vehicle 10.

[0071] The detection unit 205 detects the presence or absence of an obstacle, the distance from the vehicle 10 to the obstacle, etc., based on, for example, the detection result of the distance measuring unit 14. In addition, the detection unit 205 detects the presence or absence of an obstacle, a parking space, their positions (orientations) relative to the vehicle 10, as well as their shapes, sizes, heights, etc., by, for example, image processing based on an image captured by the imaging unit 16.

[0072] By combining these detection results, the detection unit 205 extracts information such as whether there is an obstacle around the vehicle 10, whether the obstacle may interfere with the driving of the vehicle 10, whether there is a parking space around the vehicle 10, whether it is possible to park the vehicle 10 in the parking space, i.e., whether it can be used as a parking area.

[0073] In this specification, when driving assistance is used to cause the vehicle 10 to exit a parking area in parallel, an obstacle detected by distance measuring units 14i-14l, etc. on the side of the vehicle 10 may be referred to as an "obstruction" that may block communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the driving assistance device 20 via the antennas 19, 119.

[0074] The route calculation unit 206 calculates a target position to which the vehicle 10 is to be guided based on the detection result by the detection unit 205, and calculates a travel route along which the vehicle 10 is to move to the target position.

[0075] When parking (entering) the vehicle 10, the target position is the parking area detected by the detection unit 205. When exiting the vehicle 10 from a parking space, the target position is a predetermined location from which the vehicle 10 can safely start traveling, such as an aisle between a plurality of parking spaces. When exiting the vehicle 10 from a parking space, if the current position of the mobile terminal 100 outside the vehicle can be identified by communication using UWB or the like, the route calculation unit 206 stops the vehicle 10 at a position corresponding to the position of the mobile terminal 100, i.e., the position of the driver or the like.

[0076] The stopping position of the vehicle 10 according to the position of the driver, etc. may be, for example, on the side where the driver is present. In this case, when the vehicle 10 is to be pulled out in parallel exit, if the driver is present in front of the right hand side of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 is parked near the driver by, for example, pulling up alongside the right side of the parking space. Alternatively, the stopping position of the vehicle 10 according to the position of the driver, etc. may be on the opposite side to the driver. In this case, when the vehicle 10 is to be pulled out in parallel exit, if the driver is present in front of the right hand side of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 is parked in a position away from the driver by, for example, pulling up alongside the left side of the parking space.

[0077] The stopping position of the vehicle 10 according to the position of the driver, etc. is, for example, determined in advance. The driver, etc. may be able to set such a stopping position in advance.

[0078] The route calculation unit 206 calculates a movement route of the vehicle 10 from the current position of the vehicle 10 to the target position in order to guide the vehicle 10 to the target position calculated as described above. In cases where parking or leaving the parking lot is difficult with a single back or forward movement, the movement route may include a turning point. In this case, the route calculation unit 206 calculates a movement route from the current position of the vehicle 10 to the target position via the turning point.

[0079] The route calculation unit 206 calculates a movement route for parking, such as parallel parking by backing up, parallel parking by forwarding, or parallel parking. The route calculation unit 206 also calculates a movement route for leaving, such as parallel leaving by forwarding, parallel leaving by backing up, or parallel leaving.

[0080] When assisting the driving of the vehicle 10, the movement control unit 207 controls each unit of the vehicle 10 to move the vehicle 10. Specifically, the movement control unit 207 controls all or part of the braking system 40, the acceleration system 50, the steering system 60, and the gear shifting system 70 to move the vehicle 10 to the target position along the movement route. At this time, the movement control unit 207 moves the vehicle 10 while receiving feedback from each sensor such as the braking unit sensor 43, the acceleration unit sensor 53, the steering unit sensor 63, the gear shifting unit sensor 73, and the vehicle speed sensor 83.

[0081] Even after the movement control unit 207 starts moving the vehicle 10, the detection unit 205 continues to acquire surrounding information from the distance measurement unit 14 and the imaging unit 16. The above-mentioned route calculation unit 206 appropriately recalculates the movement route based on the detection result by the detection unit 205. When the movement route is recalculated, the movement control unit 207 continues the movement of the vehicle 10 so as to finely adjust the position of the vehicle 10 accordingly.

[0082] The determination unit 208 determines the timing to start using the location information of the mobile terminal 100 acquired from the antenna 19 in the movement control of the vehicle 10 by the movement control unit 207. More specifically, the determination unit 208 refers to the detection result by the detection unit 205, and, for example, in a state where there is an obstruction or the like on the side of the vehicle 10 that obstructs communication with the mobile terminal 100, does not permit the location information of the mobile terminal 100 to be used in the movement control of the vehicle 10. Furthermore, in a state where there is no obstruction or the like on the side of the vehicle 10 that obstructs communication with the mobile terminal 100, the determination unit 208 permits the location information of the mobile terminal 100 to be used in the movement control of the vehicle 10.

[0083] (Example of operation of driving support device) Next, an example of the operation of the driving support device 20 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4 to Fig. 9. Fig. 4 to Fig. 9 are schematic diagrams for explaining an example of the operation of driving support by the driving support device 20 according to the embodiment. Fig. 4 to Fig. 9 explain an example of the case where the vehicle 10 moves forward to pull out of the parking lot in a parallel manner.

[0084] As shown in Fig. 4, the vehicle 10 is parked facing the entrance in a parking area surrounded on three sides by walls W. The driver can instruct the driving assistance device 20 to start driving assistance from outside the vehicle, for example, via a mobile terminal 100 carried by the driver. At this time, the notification generation unit 202 may generate a notification such as "driving assistance started", and the transmission / reception unit 203 may transmit the notification to the mobile terminal 100 and display it on the display device of the mobile terminal 100.

[0085] When driving assistance is started in response to an instruction from the driver or the like, the detection unit 205 acquires surrounding information from the multiple distance measuring units 14 and the multiple image capturing units 16 and detects the situation around the vehicle 10.

[0086] The detection unit 205 also detects obstacles on the sides of the vehicle 10 that may be obstructing communication between the antennas 19, 119 of the driving assistance device 20 and the mobile terminal 100, for example, by using the distance measuring units 14i to 14l, which are side sonars.

[0087] At this time, the detection unit 205 may use all the side sonars, that is, the distance measuring units 14i to 14l, to detect the presence or absence of an obstruction on the front or rear sides of the vehicle 10, or may use the distance measuring unit 14 on the traveling direction side of the vehicle 10 among the distance measuring units 14i to 14l to detect the presence or absence of an obstruction on the front side or rear side of the vehicle 10. That is, when using the distance measuring unit 14 on the traveling direction side of the vehicle 10, in the example of Fig. 4, the distance measuring units 14i, 14j on the front sides of the vehicle 10 parked facing forward in the parking area are used.

[0088] For example, the distance measuring units 14i and 14j provided on the front side of the vehicle 10 can detect obstacles in the search areas ARi and ARj shown in the figure on the front side of the vehicle 10. Therefore, the distance measuring units 14i and 14j detect, for example, a wall W located on the side of the vehicle 10, and the detection unit 205 detects it as an obstacle that interferes with communication with the mobile terminal 100.

[0089] On the other hand, the antenna 19, which communicates with the antenna 119 of the mobile terminal 100, starts transmitting radio waves of a predetermined frequency at least from the start of driving assistance. However, as described above, the distance measuring units 14i and 14j have detected a wall W on the side of the vehicle 10. Therefore, at this point, the determination unit 208 does not permit the use of the position information of the mobile terminal 100 for the movement control of the vehicle 10.

[0090] In a situation where the position information of the mobile terminal 100 cannot be obtained correctly, the route calculation unit 206 calculates, for example, according to a predetermined setting, a movement route TRa from the current position PPa of the vehicle 10 to a target position that is the stopping position of the vehicle 10. When the position information of the mobile terminal 100 cannot be obtained, the stopping position of the vehicle 10 may be set to, in principle, park the vehicle 10 on the right or left side of the parking area, regardless of the driver's position.

[0091] 5, the movement control unit 207 moves the vehicle 10 forward from the current position PPa, which is the parking position, along the movement route TRa calculated by the route calculation unit 206. At this time, the notification generation unit 202 may generate a notification such as "driving assistance in progress" indicating that the vehicle 10 is currently receiving driving assistance, and the transmission / reception unit 203 may transmit the notification to the mobile terminal 100, which may be displayed on the display device of the mobile terminal 100.

[0092] In accordance with the movement control by the movement control unit 207, the search areas ARi, ARj of the distance measuring units 14i, 14j also move forward together with the vehicle 10, approaching the parking area entrance. However, even at this point, the distance measuring units 14i, 14j continue to detect the wall W on the side of the vehicle 10, and the determination unit 208 does not permit the use of the position information of the mobile terminal 100 for the movement control of the vehicle 10.

[0093] 6, the movement control unit 207 continues to control the movement of the vehicle 10 on the movement route TRa. As a result, the wall W on the side of the company area moves out of the search areas ARi and ARj of the distance measuring units 14i and 14j.

[0094] When the initially detected obstruction to the side of the vehicle 10 is no longer detected, the judgment unit 208 judges that communication with the mobile terminal 100 using UWB or the like has become available, and permits the use of the location information of the mobile terminal 100 in mobility control.

[0095] As shown in Fig. 7, when acquiring the location information of the mobile terminal 100 from the antenna 19 of the mobile terminal 100 according to the above determination by the determination unit 208, the driving support device 20 may attempt to communicate with the mobile terminal 100 using all the antennas 19a to 19d, or may attempt to communicate with the mobile terminal 100 using the antenna 19 among the antennas 19a to 19d that corresponds to the installation position of the distance measurement unit 14 that has detected that the obstruction has disappeared. The antenna 19 that corresponds to the installation position of the distance measurement unit 14 is the antenna 19 close to the distance measurement unit 14, and in the example of Fig. 7, the antennas 19a and 19b provided near the distance measurement units 14i and 14j, respectively, are used.

[0096] When the position information of the mobile terminal 100 is obtained by at least the antennas 19a and 19b among the multiple antennas 19, the route calculation unit 206 recalculates a travel route TRb in which the position of the mobile terminal 100, i.e., a position corresponding to the driver's position, is set as the stopping position of the vehicle 10. The recalculated travel route TRb leads from the current position PPb of the vehicle 10 at that time to the target position DP, which is the stopping position of the vehicle 10. In the example of FIG. 7, it is assumed that the stopping position of the vehicle 10 corresponding to the driver's position is set on the side where the driver is present.

[0097] 8, the movement control unit 207 turns the vehicle 10 right from the current position PPb of the vehicle 10, for example, to the side where the driver is located, along the movement route TRb calculated by the route calculation unit 206. As a result, the driver is included in the search area ARj of the distance measurement unit 14j, and the distance measurement unit 14j is deemed to have detected the driver.

[0098] In this way, when either the distance measuring unit 14 or the imaging unit 16 detects an obstacle, the movement control unit 207 controls the vehicle 10 taking that information into consideration in principle. However, after accurate position information of the mobile terminal 100 can be acquired by communication using UWB or the like, it is possible to prevent the detection result of the driver by the distance measuring unit 14 or the imaging unit 16 from being used in the movement control by the movement control unit 207. This is because a more accurate current position of the driver can be identified by the position information of the mobile terminal 100 obtained by UWB or the like.

[0099] This makes it possible to prevent, for example, a driver who is near the vehicle 10 and watching over the safe driving of the vehicle 10 from being erroneously detected as an obstacle, and to prevent driving assistance from being inadvertently stopped.

[0100] 9, the movement control unit 207 continues to control the movement of the vehicle 10 on the movement route TRb. As a result, the vehicle 10 reaches the target position DP and is pulled up alongside the driver, for example. At this time, the notification generation unit 202 generates a notification such as "driving assistance ended" indicating that the vehicle 10 has reached the target position DP, and the transmission / reception unit 203 may transmit the notification to the mobile terminal 100 and display it on the display device of the mobile terminal 100.

[0101] This completes the driving assistance operation by the driving assistance device 20 of the embodiment.

[0102] In the above-mentioned Figures 4 to 9, an example is described in which the vehicle 10 leaves the parking lot in a parallel manner by moving forward. However, the above-mentioned operation of the driving assistance device 20 can also be applied to driving assistance of the vehicle 10 in other situations, such as when the vehicle 10 leaves the parking lot in a parallel manner by moving backward, or when the vehicle 10 leaves the parking lot in a parallel manner.

[0103] (Example of processing by driving support device) Next, an example of driving support processing by the driving support device 20 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a flow diagram showing an example of a procedure of the driving support processing by the driving support device 20 according to the embodiment.

[0104] As shown in FIG. 10, when a driver or the like issues an instruction to start driving assistance using, for example, the mobile terminal 100 from outside the vehicle and the instruction is received by the transceiver unit 203 of the driving assistance device 20 (step S101), the detection unit 205 attempts to detect an obstruction on the side of the vehicle 10 based on, for example, the detection results of the distance measuring units 14i to 14l (step S102).

[0105] If there is an obstruction to the side of the vehicle 10 (step S102: Yes), the judgment unit 208 does not allow the location information of the mobile terminal 100 obtained from the antenna 19 through communication using UWB or the like to be used for controlling the movement of the vehicle 10 (step S103).

[0106] The route calculation unit 206 calculates a default travel route based on a predetermined setting (step S104), and the travel control unit 207 starts travel control of the vehicle 10 along the default travel route (step S105).

[0107] Even after the movement control of the vehicle 10 is started, the detection unit 205 appropriately monitors whether or not an obstruction is detected on the side of the vehicle 10 by the distance measuring units 14i to 14l, etc. (step S106). While an obstruction continues to be detected on the side of the vehicle 10 (step S106: Yes), for example, the movement control unit 207 determines whether or not the vehicle 10 has moved a predetermined ratio or more along the default movement route (step S107). While the movement distance of the vehicle 10 is less than the predetermined ratio (step S107: No), the movement control unit 207 continues the movement control of the vehicle 10 (step S105), and the detection unit 205 continues monitoring the obstruction on the side of the vehicle 10 (step S106).

[0108] If the vehicle 10 has moved along the default movement route for a predetermined percentage or more (step S107: Yes), the movement control unit 207 continues to control the movement of the vehicle 10 along the default movement route (step S108). The movement control unit 207 also determines whether the driving assistance process has ended, for example, when the vehicle 10 reaches a target position (step S109). If the driving assistance process is ongoing (step S109: No), the process of step S108 is repeated until the driving assistance process ends (step S109: Yes).

[0109] If an obstruction to the side of the vehicle 10 is no longer detected (step S106: No) before the vehicle 10 has moved a predetermined percentage or more along the predetermined movement route (step S107: No), the judgment unit 208 allows the position information of the mobile terminal 100 obtained from the antenna 19 through communication using UWB or the like to be used for movement control of the vehicle 10 (step S110).

[0110] Also, when no obstruction is detected to the side of the vehicle 10 from the beginning of the driving assistance (step S102: No), the use of the position information of the mobile terminal 100 for the movement control of the vehicle 10 is permitted (step S110).

[0111] As a result, location information of the mobile terminal 100 is acquired by communication between the antennas 19, 119 using UWB or the like, and based on that location information, the route calculation unit 206 recalculates a travel route to the target position according to the driver's position (step S111).

[0112] The movement control unit 207 controls the movement of the vehicle 10 along a movement route with a stop position corresponding to the driver's position as a target position (step S112). The movement control unit 207 also determines whether the driving support process has ended, for example, when the vehicle 10 reaches the target position (step S113). If the driving support process is ongoing (step S113: No), the process of step S112 is repeated until the driving support process ends (step S113: Yes).

[0113] This ends the driving assistance process by the driving assistance device 20 of the embodiment.

[0114] (Overview) The driving assistance device assists the driving of the vehicle based on information about the surroundings of the vehicle from a distance measuring unit, an image capturing unit, etc. In recent years, there has been progress in the development of driving assistance devices that remotely assist the vehicle in entering or leaving a parking area while the driver is out of the vehicle. In addition, a technology has been developed that identifies the driver's location by communicating with a mobile terminal carried by the driver using UWB or the like when the vehicle leaves the parking area, and stops and leaves the vehicle at a location according to the driver's location.

[0115] However, while communication technologies using UWB and the like have high positioning accuracy, they are easily affected by obstructions, etc. Therefore, if there is an obstruction between the antennas of the driving assistance device and the mobile terminal, the positioning accuracy will decrease, and there is a concern that the driver's position and the distance from the vehicle, etc. will be calculated erroneously.

[0116] According to the driving support device 20 of the embodiment, when an obstacle is detected on the side of the vehicle 10 at first, the position information of the mobile terminal 100 obtained from the antenna 19 is started to be used in the movement control of the vehicle 10 at the timing when the obstacle is no longer detected in association with the movement control of the vehicle 10. This makes it possible to communicate with the mobile terminal 100 of the driver with sufficient position identification accuracy being ensured.

[0117] According to the driving assistance device 20 of the embodiment, the vehicle 10 is stopped at a position according to the position information based on the position information of the mobile terminal 100 from the antenna 19. By controlling the movement of the vehicle 10 using the position information obtained when the driver's position is highly accurately identified, the vehicle 10 can be stopped at a desired position with high accuracy.

[0118] According to the driving assistance device 20 of the embodiment, after the start of using the position information of the mobile terminal 100 obtained from the antenna 19, the information of the current position of the driver obtained by the distance measuring unit 14 and the imaging unit 16 is not used for the movement control of the vehicle 10. This makes it possible to suppress the driver from being erroneously detected as an obstacle and unintentionally interfering with the driving assistance control.

[0119] According to the driving assistance device 20 of the embodiment, the antenna 19 starts communication with the mobile terminal 100 from the beginning of the driving assistance in parallel with the collection of surrounding information by the distance measuring unit 14 and the imaging unit 16. The antenna 19 goes through an initialization sequence and the like immediately after being turned on and enters stable operation. By turning on the antenna 19 from the beginning of the driving assistance process, it is possible to stably obtain the location information of the mobile terminal 100 immediately after the use of the location information is permitted. In addition, when communication by the antenna 19 is started from the beginning, it is also possible to supplementarily refer to the location information from the antenna 19, for example, for the detection of an obstruction by the distance measuring unit 14, even at a stage where the location information of the mobile terminal 100 using UWB or the like is unavailable.

[0120] However, the antenna 19 may start communication with the mobile terminal 100 at the timing when the determination unit 208 determines that the use of the location information of the mobile terminal 100 obtained from the antenna 19 has started. In this way, when there is a possibility that an accurate location cannot be specified due to an obstruction, the processing load on the driving assistance device 20 can be reduced by not communicating with the mobile terminal 100.

[0121] In the above embodiment, the location information of the mobile terminal 100 is acquired by communication using UWB. However, when a technology to replace UWB is developed in the future, such a technology can be used for the above control of the driving assistance device 20 instead of UWB.

[0122] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the driving assistance device 20 is mounted on the vehicle 10, but the driving assistance device 20 does not necessarily have to be mounted on the vehicle 10. For example, the driving assistance device may acquire peripheral information of the vehicle from various sensors at a location away from the vehicle, and remotely assist in driving the vehicle.

[0123] (Variation 1) Next, a driving support device according to a first modification of the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 11. The driving support device according to the first modification differs from the above-described embodiment in that a plurality of distance measuring units 14 are used to measure the distance to an obstruction.

[0124] In the following description, the configurations of Modification 1 corresponding to the respective configurations of the above-described embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0125] Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of driving assistance by the driving assistance device according to the first modified example of the embodiment. More specifically, Fig. 11 shows an example of the case where driving assistance is started under a condition in which position information of the mobile terminal 100 cannot be obtained initially due to a wall W on the side of the vehicle 10, similar to Figs. 4 to 9 described above, and shows the timing when the vehicle 10 moves forward to a position similar to that of Fig. 5 described above.

[0126] 11, the driving assistance device of the first modification uses distance measuring units 14i-14l, which are side sonars, as well as distance measuring units 14a, 14d, 14e, and 14h, which are nearby corner sonars, to detect obstacles on the sides of the vehicle 10. That is, for example, by using a pair of distance measuring units 14a and 14i, a pair of distance measuring units 14d and 14j, a pair of distance measuring units 14k and 14e, or a pair of distance measuring units 14l and 14h, the position coordinates of obstacles near these combinations can be identified in accordance with triangulation.

[0127] At this time, the detection unit 205 may detect the presence or absence of an obstruction on the front or rear sides of the vehicle 10 using a combination of all the side sonars, that is, the distance measuring units 14a, 14i, the distance measuring units 14d, 14j, the distance measuring units 14e, 14k, and the distance measuring units 14h, 14l, or may detect the presence or absence of an obstruction on the front or rear sides of the vehicle 10 using a combination of the distance measuring units 14 on the traveling direction side of the vehicle 10 among the above combinations. That is, when the distance measuring unit 14 on the traveling direction side of the vehicle 10 is used, in the example of Fig. 11, the distance measuring units 14a, 14i and the distance measuring units 14d, 14j on the front sides of the vehicle 10 parked facing forward in the parking area are used.

[0128] For example, the distance measuring units 14a and 14i are capable of detecting obstacles and the like in search areas ARa and ARi shown in the figure, respectively, on the front sides of the vehicle 10. The distance measuring units 14d and 14j are capable of detecting obstacles and the like in search areas ARd and ARj shown in the figure, respectively, on the front sides of the vehicle 10.

[0129] A detailed description of the distance measurement method using triangulation by multiple sonars will be omitted, but as shown in the enlarged view of Fig. 11, for example, the distance to the wall W on the side of the vehicle 10 is calculated based on the sound waves transmitted from the distance measurement unit 14j and received by the distance measurement unit 14j itself, the flight distance of these transmitted and received waves is calculated based on the sound waves transmitted from the distance measurement unit 14j and received by the distance measurement unit 14a, and the flight distance of the reflected wave of the sound wave received by the distance measurement unit 14a, that is, the flight distance of the sound wave transmitted from the distance measurement unit 14j, is calculated based on the previously calculated distance to the wall W on the side of the vehicle 10 and the flight distance of the transmitted and received waves between the distance measurement units 14a and 14j. This allows, for example, the position coordinates of the reflection point Pw of the transmitted and received waves between the distance measurement units 14a and 14j to be obtained.

[0130] In this manner, by measuring the distance to an obstacle such as a wall W using triangulation with a combination of a plurality of distance measuring units 14, the position of the obstacle can be identified with higher accuracy.

[0131] As described above, in Fig. 11, the vehicle 10 is in the same position as in Fig. 5. In Fig. 5, for example, the distance measuring unit 14j is used to detect an obstruction on the side, and it was determined that there was still an obstruction on the side of the vehicle 10 at the position of the vehicle 10 at that time. However, as shown in Fig. 11, by performing distance measurement using a combination of multiple distance measuring units 14a, 14j, it is possible to determine that there is no longer an obstruction on the side of the vehicle 10 at the position of the vehicle 10 at that time.

[0132] In this way, by performing distance measurement using a combination of multiple distance measurement units 14, it is possible to determine that an obstruction has disappeared at an earlier timing, and the position information of the mobile terminal 100 using UWB or the like can be used for movement control in driving assistance.

[0133] In communication with the mobile terminal 100 using UWB or the like, including the above-mentioned embodiment, some of the multiple antennas 19a to 19d are combined and the position of the mobile terminal 100 is identified by triangulation. This allows for highly accurate positioning.

[0134] (Variation 2) Next, a driving support device according to a second modification of the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 12. In the driving support device according to the second modification, a method for detecting an obstruction is different from that in the above-described embodiment.

[0135] In the following description, the configurations of Modification 2 corresponding to the respective configurations of the above-described embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0136] Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the operation of driving assistance by the driving assistance device according to the modified example 2 of the embodiment. More specifically, in Fig. 12, similar to Figs. 4 to 9 described above, the vehicle 10 is parked facing the entrance side in a parking area surrounded on three sides by walls W.

[0137] 12, in the driving assistance device of the second modification, an obstacle on the side of the vehicle 10 is detected using the imaging unit 16 instead of or in addition to the distance measuring unit 14. At this time, among the multiple imaging units 16, some of the multiple imaging units 16a to 16d including the imaging units 16c and 16d provided on the sides of the vehicle 10 may be used, or all of the multiple imaging units 16a to 16d may be used.

[0138] When the imaging unit 16 is used, it is possible to detect an obstruction on the side of the vehicle 10, for example, by image analysis of an image captured by the imaging unit 16. As an example, images IMa to IMd captured by the multiple imaging units 16a to 16d, respectively, are shown in FIG.

[0139] As described above, the imaging unit 16a is provided, for example, on the front bumper, and captures a predetermined range AVa in front of the vehicle 10. Therefore, the image IMa captured by the imaging unit 16a shows, for example, the entrance side of the parking area, and openings in the walls W on both sides of the parking area can be seen. The imaging unit 16b is provided, for example, on the rear bumper, and captures a predetermined range AVb behind the vehicle 10. Therefore, the image IMb captured by the imaging unit 16b shows, for example, the back side of the parking area, and it can be seen that the rear and both sides of the vehicle 10 are surrounded by walls W.

[0140] As described above, the imaging units 16c and 16d are provided, for example, on the side mirrors of the vehicle 10, and capture predetermined ranges AVc and AVd, respectively, on the sides of the vehicle 10. Therefore, the images IMc and IMd captured by the imaging units 16c and 16d show both sides of the parking area, and it can be seen that both sides of the vehicle 10 are blocked by walls W.

[0141] In this manner, by using at least some of the imaging units 16a to 16d, it is possible to detect an obstacle on the side of the vehicle 10. Furthermore, by using some of the imaging units 16a to 16d in combination with the distance measuring unit 14, it is possible to improve the accuracy of detecting an obstacle compared to the case where the detection result of the distance measuring unit 14 is used, for example.

[0142] (Variation 3) In the above embodiment, a very simple control example for parallel leaving is described. In the following Modification 3, an example in which the obstacles in the parking area are not symmetrical will be described.

[0143] 13 to 15 are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of the driving support operation performed by the driving support device according to the third modification of the embodiment.

[0144] 13, the vehicle 10 is parked facing the entrance in a parking area surrounded on three sides by walls Wa. However, the wall Wa on the right side of the vehicle 10 is shorter than the wall Wa on the left side of the vehicle 10, and there is no obstruction on the right front side of the vehicle 10 from the beginning.

[0145] In such driving assistance for exiting the vehicle 10 from a parking area, a case where the driver carrying the mobile terminal 100 is on the front left of the vehicle 10 (Case A) and a case where the driver is on the front right of the vehicle 10 (Case B) will be described.

[0146] 13, the detection unit 205 detects obstacles on both sides of the vehicle 10, for example, by the distance measurement units 14i and 14j on the front sides of the vehicle 10. Since the route calculation unit 206 cannot obtain position information of the mobile terminal 100, it calculates the travel route TRa according to, for example, a predetermined setting.

[0147] As shown in FIG. 14, when the movement control unit 207 starts movement control and the vehicle 10 moves forward, the distance measurement units 14i and 14j, among them, first detect that the obstruction on the right side of the vehicle 10 has disappeared by the distance measurement unit 14j.

[0148] At this time, in Case B where the driver is in the front right of the vehicle 10, it is considered that communication is established between the antennas 19a, 19b, which are close to the driver and search the area outside the front of the vehicle 10, and the mobile terminal 100. The determination unit 208 collates the position information of the obstruction from the distance measurement unit 14j and the position information of the mobile terminal 100 from the antenna 19, and if the driver is on the right side of the vehicle where the obstruction has disappeared, etc., it permits the use of the position information of the mobile terminal 100 using UWB or the like for controlling the movement of the vehicle 10 from that point on.

[0149] On the other hand, in Case A where the driver is on the left front side of the vehicle 10, the mobile terminal 100 is located on the side of the distance measuring unit 14i that continues to detect the obstruction. The determination unit 208 collates the position information of the obstruction by the distance measuring unit 14i and the position information of the mobile terminal 100 from the antenna 19, etc., and when there is no driver on the right side of the vehicle 10 where the obstruction has disappeared, it can determine that the reliability of the position information of the mobile terminal 100 from the antennas 19a, 19b, etc. is low, and cannot permit the use of the position information of the mobile terminal 100 at this point.

[0150] 15, the movement control unit 207 continues to control the movement of the vehicle 10 on the movement route TRa. As a result, the distance measurement unit 14i detects that the obstacle on the left side of the vehicle 10 has also disappeared.

[0151] At this time, in Case A where the driver is in the front left of the vehicle 10, the antennas 19a and 19b are closer to the driver, and it is considered that communication is established with the mobile terminal 100. From this point on, the determination unit 208 permits the use of the position information of the mobile terminal 100 using UWB or the like for controlling the movement of the vehicle 10.

[0152] In this way, when the wall Wa surrounding the parking area is not symmetrical, the timing at which the position information of the mobile terminal 100 using UWB or the like becomes available may differ depending on the driver's position.

[0153] 13 to 15, in both of Case A where the driver is on the left front side of the vehicle 10 and Case B where the driver is on the right front side of the vehicle 10, the use of the location information of the mobile terminal 100 by UWB or the like may be started at the timing of Fig. 15 when the distance measuring units 14i, 14j on both sides of the vehicle 10 detect that the obstruction has disappeared. This can further improve the accuracy of the location information of the mobile terminal 100 generated by the antenna 19. [Explanation of symbols]

[0154] 10. Vehicle 14...Distance measurement section 16…Imaging unit 19,119…Antenna 20...Driving assistance device 100…Mobile devices 201...Display control unit 202…Notification generation unit 203...Transmitter / receiver 204…Acquisition Department 205…Detection section 206...Route calculation unit 207...Movement control unit 208…Judgment section

Claims

1. A driving assistance device that provides driving assistance to a vehicle in accordance with an instruction from a terminal carried by a user of the vehicle, a detection unit that detects an obstacle on the side of the vehicle based on surrounding information of the vehicle obtained by at least one of a sensor that searches the surroundings of the vehicle using sound waves or electromagnetic waves and a camera that captures the surroundings of the vehicle; a transmitting / receiving unit that performs short-distance wireless communication with the terminal and generates location information of the terminal based on a communication result obtained by the communication; A movement control unit that performs movement control to cause the vehicle to leave a parking area in which the vehicle is parked while identifying a current location of the user based on the location information; and a determination unit that determines a timing to start using the location information in the mobility control based on a detection result of the detection unit, The determination unit is When the obstacle is detected on the side of the vehicle at first, the use of the position information in the movement control is started at a timing when the obstacle is no longer detected in association with the movement control of the vehicle. Driving assistance device.

2. The movement control unit is stopping the vehicle at a position according to the position information based on the position information; The driving assistance device according to claim 1 .

3. The movement control unit is After the use of the position information is started, the information on the user's current position obtained by the sensor and the camera is not used for the movement control. The driving assistance device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The transmitting / receiving unit is Starting the communication with the terminal at the timing determined by the determination unit, or From the beginning of the start of the driving assistance, the communication with the terminal is started in parallel with the collection of the surrounding information by the sensor and the camera. The driving assistance device according to claim 1 or 2.

Images