Parking support device and parking support method

Abstract

To reduce a burden on a driver before automatic parking.SOLUTION: A parking support device determines whether a location where a vehicle is located is part of a parking space detected by using surroundings of the vehicle. If it is determined that the vehicle is located in part of a parking space, the parking support device selects the detected parking space as the parking space for the vehicle and performs parking control of the vehicle so that the vehicle fits into the selected parking space.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to parking assistance. [Background technology]

[0002] In general, an automatic parking function detects candidate vacant parking spaces based on the situation around the vehicle (e.g., the situation identified from information from a camera, sonar, etc.), and when a parking space is selected from the candidate vacant parking spaces by the driver (or a passenger), automatic parking in the selected parking space is started. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of selecting one from a plurality of parking space candidates, which selects the parking space closest to the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] WO2017 / 104164 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Candidate parking spaces to be used as parking destinations in automatic parking are detected based on the situation around the vehicle. Therefore, in order to use a detected parking space as a parking destination in automatic parking, it is desirable for the driver to visually confirm that the parking space is an empty parking space and then specify the parking space as the parking destination to the in-vehicle device.

[0005] However, it is a burden for the driver to monitor whether an available parking space has been detected while looking at the display of the in-vehicle device, and to instruct the in-vehicle device which of the detected available parking spaces to park in.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to reduce the burden on the driver before automatic parking. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The parking assistant determines whether the location where the vehicle is located is part of a parking space detected by using the surroundings of the vehicle. If it is determined that the vehicle is located in part of a parking space, the parking assistant selects the detected parking space as the parking space for the vehicle and performs parking control of the vehicle so that the vehicle fits into the selected parking space. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the burden on the driver before automatic parking. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a parking assistance device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart of the parking assistance device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of parking assistance according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a transition between a vehicle position and a screen. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of acquiring surrounding conditions and detecting parking spaces. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of parking space selection. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting a parking space change. [Figure 8A] FIG. 1 shows an example of messy parking in a parking space. [Figure 8B] FIG. 8B illustrates an example of parking control after the rough parking shown in FIG. 8A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, when elements of the same type are described without distinction, common reference symbols are used, and when elements of the same type are described with distinction, reference symbols may be used.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a parking assistance device according to an embodiment.

[0012] The parking assistance device 100 is mounted on a vehicle 50 and includes an interface device 101, a storage device 102, and a processor 103 connected thereto.

[0013] The interface device 101 is an interface for various devices provided in the vehicle 50. For example, the interface device 101 is connected to a sonar 121, a camera group 122 (one or more cameras), an operation device 123 (typically a steering wheel), a drive device 124 (power train), a braking control device 125 (typically a brake), a touch panel 131, and an operation button group 132 (one or more operation buttons) in the vehicle 50. The sonar 121 and the camera group 122 are each an example of a sensor for detecting the surrounding situation of the vehicle 50. The touch panel 131 and the operation button group 132 are each an example of a UI (User Interface) device such as a display device and an input device. The operation button group 132 may not be provided, and all operations may be performed using the touch panel 131. Also, a display device other than the touch panel 131 may be adopted, and input may be performed via the operation button group 132 or other UI device.

[0014] The storage device 102 includes at least a memory among a memory and a persistent storage device. The memory may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. The persistent storage device may be a non-volatile storage device (e.g., a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD)). The storage device 102 stores computer programs and data. For example, information representing camera images, sonar detection information, and information representing a parking path described below are stored in the storage device 102.

[0015] The processor 106 may be one or more processor devices, and at least one of the processor devices may be a microprocessor device such as a central processing unit (CPU), or may be another type of processor device such as a graphics processing unit (GPU). The at least one processor device may be a single-core or multi-core, or may be a processor core. The at least one processor device may be a broad processor device such as a hardware circuit (for example, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) that performs part or all of the processing. The processor 106 executes a computer program to realize functions such as a surroundings acquisition unit 151, a parking space detection unit 152, a position determination unit 153, a parking space selection unit 154, a mode management unit 155, a parking control unit 156, and a UI control unit 157. These functions 151 to 157 are examples, and multiple functions may be combined into one function, or one function may be divided into multiple functions.

[0016] The surrounding condition acquisition unit 151 acquires the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 50. Specifically, the surrounding condition acquisition unit 151 identifies the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 50 based on information from the sonar 121 and the camera group 122.

[0017] The parking space detection unit 152 detects a parking space in which the vehicle 50 can be parked, using the situation around the vehicle 50 (the situation acquired by the surrounding situation acquisition unit 151). Note that the "parking space" may be a space with a general border, or a space without a border but large enough for the vehicle 50 to park.

[0018] The position determination unit 153 determines whether the location of the vehicle 50 is located within a part of the parking space detected by the parking space detection unit 152.

[0019] When the position determination unit 153 determines that the vehicle 50 is located in a part of the parking space, the parking space selection unit 154 selects the parking space detected by the parking space detection unit 152 as the parking space for the vehicle 50.

[0020] The mode management unit 155 manages the mode of the vehicle 50. For example, the modes include a parking assistance mode and a driving mode. The driving modes include a manual mode (a mode in which manual driving is performed) and an automatic mode (a mode in which automatic driving is performed). For example, the mode management unit 155 switches the driving mode of the vehicle 50 from the manual mode to the automatic mode, or switches the driving mode of the vehicle 50 from the automatic mode to the manual mode.

[0021] The parking control unit 156 performs parking control of the vehicle 50 so that the vehicle 50 fits into the parking space selected by the parking space selection unit 154. Specifically, for example, the parking control unit 156 generates a parking path so that the vehicle 50 fits into the parking space, and performs driving control of the vehicle 50 along the parking path (control of the operation device 123, the drive device 124, and the braking control device 125).

[0022] The UI control unit 157 displays information on the touch panel 131 and executes control in response to inputs from the touch panel 131 and the operation button group 132. For example, the UI control unit 157 displays camera images and sonar detection information on the touch panel 131, and during automatic parking, displays the created parking path on the touch panel 131 by superimposing it on the camera image.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the parking assistance device.

[0024] The mode management unit 155 determines whether the parking assistance mode is on or not (S201). The parking assistance mode may be turned on when any of the following events is detected. The mode management unit 155 turns on the parking assistance mode when any of the following events is detected. The parking assistance mode is manually turned on. Specifically, the parking assistance mode is turned on via a UI device such as the touch panel 131 or the operation button group 132. The parking assistance conditions acquired by the surrounding condition acquisition unit 151 satisfy a predetermined condition. The "parking assistance conditions" are conditions under which the parking assistance mode is automatically turned on. Examples of the parking assistance conditions include the current location of the vehicle 50 being a parking lot, or multiple parameter values ​​such as the speed of the vehicle 50 and the acquired surrounding conditions being parameter values ​​corresponding to a situation in which a parking space is being searched for.

[0025] If the parking assistance mode is on (S201: Yes), the parking space detection unit 152 determines whether or not there is a parking space available for the vehicle 50, using the surrounding conditions acquired by the surrounding conditions acquisition unit 151 (S202).

[0026] If the parking space detection unit 152 detects a parking space (S202: Yes), the position determination unit 153 determines whether the current position of the vehicle 50 is located in a part of the detected parking space (S203).

[0027] If the position determination unit 153 determines that the vehicle 50 is located in a portion of the parking space (S203: Yes), the parking space selection unit 154 determines whether the vehicle 50 is located in a plurality of parking spaces (S204).

[0028] If there is one parking space in which the vehicle 50 is located (S204: No), the parking space selection unit 154 selects that parking space (S205).

[0029] On the other hand, if there are multiple parking spaces in which the vehicle 50 is located (S204: Yes), the parking space selection unit 154 selects a parking space for the vehicle 50 from the multiple parking spaces using the direction in which the vehicle 50 enters the multiple parking spaces and the relative positional relationship between the multiple parking spaces and the vehicle 50 (S206).

[0030] When a parking space is selected in S205 or S206, the mode management unit 155 switches the driving mode from the manual mode to the automatic mode (S207). Thereafter, the parking control unit 156 generates a parking route so that the vehicle 50 fits into the parking space selected in S205 or S206 (S208), and automatically parks the vehicle 50 along the parking route (S209). Note that the switching from the manual mode to the automatic mode may be performed between S203: Yes and S205 or S206, instead of after S205 or S206. In other words, the switching from the manual mode to the automatic mode may be performed anywhere between S203: Yes and S209.

[0031] According to the parking assistance in the flow in which S205 is performed, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the burden on the driver before automatic parking is small for both parallel parking and parallel parking. Specifically, in the manual mode, the driver roughly parks the vehicle 50 in the parking space 301, and the parking space to be the parking destination is determined (S203: Yes and S205). After that, the driving mode is switched from the manual mode to the automatic mode (S207), and in the automatic mode, the vehicle 50 is automatically parked in the determined parking space 301 (S208 and S209). As a result, the driver does not need to monitor whether an empty parking space has been detected or specify which of the detected empty parking spaces to park in, since the empty parking space 301 is determined as the parking destination and automatic parking is started by placing at least a part of the vehicle 50 in the desired empty parking space 301. In other words, the burden on the driver before automatic parking can be reduced. For example, if a parking space becomes available because another vehicle has left in front of the driver, the driver can park roughly in the space, allowing the vehicle to be parked automatically in the space quickly.

[0032] Note that "careless parking" means that at least a portion of the vehicle 50 is parked in the parking space 301, and the position of the vehicle 50 with respect to the parking space 301 does not have to be appropriate. This is because even if the position of the vehicle 50 with respect to the parking space 301 is not appropriate, the vehicle 50 will fit appropriately in the parking space 301 by automatic parking after the parking space is determined.

[0033] Furthermore, the storage device 102 may store vehicle size information that is information that indicates the size (e.g., overall length, overall width, and overall height) of the vehicle 50. The parking space detection unit 152 may estimate the size (e.g., length and width (and height if there is a height restriction such as a roof)) of the vacant parking space 301 from a camera image (or other information) of the vacant parking space 301, and detect the vacant parking space 301 as a parking destination candidate when the estimated size is larger than the size of the vehicle 50 (the size indicated by the vehicle size information). That is, in this embodiment, a "parking space" may be a space that is large enough to accommodate the vehicle 50. The parking space 301 may or may not have an object (e.g., a line) that defines the range of the parking space 301.

[0034] In addition, for both parallel parking and perpendicular parking, the parking space selection unit 154 may specify the approach direction of the vehicle 50 into the vacant parking space 301 (approach direction for rough parking) by using the surrounding conditions acquired by the surrounding conditions acquisition unit 151. In automatic parking, the parking control unit 156 may determine whether the vehicle 50 will be parked from the front or rear side according to the specified approach direction, and may enter the vehicle 50 into the parking space 301 selected by the parking space selection unit 154 from the determined side. Since the approach direction in rough parking is determined by the driver's intention, automatic parking is also expected to be parking according to the driver's intention.

[0035] The UI control unit 157 may also display the progress of parking assistance on the touch panel 131. An example of transition of the screen displayed on the touch panel 131 is shown in FIG. 4. The upper side of FIG. 4 shows the transition of parking of the vehicle 50, and the lower side of FIG. 4 shows the transition of the display on the touch panel 131. In the manual mode after the parking assistance mode is turned on (S201: Yes to S202: No), the driver roughly parks the vehicle 50 in a desired parking space (S203: Yes) to confirm the parking position. In this case, the driving mode is switched from the manual mode to the automatic mode, and automatic parking is started. The UI control unit 157 displays, on the touch panel 131, a screen 401 of a camera image on the traveling direction side of the parking space (the rear side in the example shown in FIG. 4) and a screen 402 of an aerial image of the vehicle 50. After that, the images on the screens 401 and 402 are images according to the progress of automatic parking (particularly S209). The image may be overlaid with an object (e.g., an arrow) representing a parking path.

[0036] An example of a case where a plurality of parking spaces 301 are detected (S204: Yes) will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.

[0037] For example, as shown in Fig. 5, when the parking assistance mode is on and the vehicle 50 moves forward, the parking space detection unit 152 analyzes the camera images (camera images acquired by the surrounding situation acquisition unit 151) of the front camera and the left and right side cameras in the camera group 122 to detect vacant parking spaces 301A, 301B, and 301P (symbol 500F represents the field of view of the front camera, and symbols 500L and 500R represent the field of view of the left and right side cameras). Specifically, for example, the detected vacant parking spaces 301A, 301B, and 301P are parking frames configured with real lines or virtual lines, and the parking space detection unit 152 stores information representing the positions of the vacant parking spaces 301A, 301B, and 301P as parking frames on the spatial map in the storage device 102. On the left side of the traveling direction of the vehicle 50, the vacant parking spaces 301A and 301B are adjacent to each other.

[0038] At least at the start of rough parking, the driving mode is the manual mode. In the manual mode, it is assumed that the driver roughly parks the vehicle 50 as shown in FIG. 6. As a result, the position determination unit 153 determines that the location where the vehicle 50 is located is located in a part of the parking spaces 301A and 301B. In this case (S204: Yes), the parking space selection unit 154 selects one parking space for the vehicle 50 from the multiple parking spaces (parking frames) 301A and 301B using the approach direction of the vehicle 50 to the multiple parking spaces (parking frames) 301A and 301B and the relative positional relationship between the multiple parking spaces 301A and 301B and the vehicle 50 (S206). The "relative positional relationship" is, for example, at least one of the following (a) to (c). (a) For each of the multiple parking spaces 301A and 301B, the distance between the reference position of the parking space 301 in a top view and the reference position of the vehicle 50 in a top view. (b) For each of the plurality of parking spaces 301A and 301B, a parking path from the determined position of the vehicle 50 to the parking space 301 where the vehicle 50 fits. (c) In a top view, in which of the multiple parking spaces 301A and 301B is the end of the front or rear end of the vehicle 50 that is closest to the direction in which the vehicle 50 is entering located?

[0039] An example of (a) is as shown in FIG. 6. That is, the parking space selection unit 154 specifies the center positions 31A and 31B of the parking spaces 301A and 301B. The center position 31 of the parking space 301 (parking frame) is the intersection of the diagonal lines. The parking space selection unit 154 calculates the distance between the center position 31 of the parking space 301 and the center position 51 of the vehicle 50. The center position 51 of the vehicle 50 may be the center position of the rear wheel axle of the vehicle 50. The parking space selection unit 154 selects the parking space 301B with the smallest calculated distance. The center position 31 is an example of the reference position of the parking space 301, and the center position 51 is an example of the reference position of the vehicle 50. The reference position of the parking space 301 may be a position (for example, any vertex) in the parking space 301 that satisfies a predetermined condition. The reference position of the vehicle 50 may be a position that satisfies a predetermined condition in the top view of the vehicle 50. Depending on the direction from which the vehicle 50 enters the parking spaces 301A and 301B due to careless parking, a parking space with a relatively long distance between the center positions 31 and 51 may be selected.

[0040] In the example of (b), the parking space selection unit 154 may determine a parking path from the determined position of the vehicle 50 to the parking space 301 for each of the multiple parking spaces 301A and 301B, and select the parking space 301 with the shortest parking path. Note that a parking space with a relatively long parking path may be selected depending on the direction from which the vehicle 50 entered the parking spaces 301A and 301B due to careless parking.

[0041] In the example of (c), the parking space selection unit 154 may identify which of the parking spaces 301A and 301B the end of the front end or rear end of the vehicle 50 closest to the entrance direction of the vehicle 50 is located in when viewed from above, and select the identified parking space 301. When (c) is adopted in FIG. 6, the traveling direction of the vehicle 50 is forward and the front end of the vehicle 50 is located in the parking space 301A when viewed from above, so the parking space 301A may be selected as the parking destination. Depending on the direction in which the vehicle 50 enters the parking spaces 301A and 301B due to careless parking (for example, when the vehicle 50 is automatically parked from the opposite direction to the traveling direction during careless parking), the parking space 301B in which the front end of the vehicle 50 is not located when viewed from above may be selected as the parking destination.

[0042] In this way, the traveling direction during rough parking, which is one of the factors for determining the parking route for automatic parking, is used as one of the factors for determining which parking space 301 to select from the multiple parking spaces 301A and 301B. In other words, the factors for determining the parking route for automatic parking can also be used as a factor for determining which parking space 301 to select.

[0043] When one parking space 301 is selected as a parking destination from among the multiple parking spaces 301A and 301B in which it is determined that a part of the vehicle 50 is located, the UI control unit 157 may display a change reception screen, which is a screen (typically a GUI) for receiving a change of the parking space 301 as a parking destination, on the touch panel 131, as illustrated in FIG. 7. According to the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the parking space displayed in halftone dots is the parking space selected as the parking destination, and the parking space displayed in white is the parking space that can be manually selected as the changed parking destination. When the UI control unit 157 receives the manual selection of the parking space as the changed parking destination, the parking control unit 156 may create a parking route with the manually selected parking space as the parking destination, and start automatic parking along the parking route. Note that automatic parking with the previously automatically selected parking space as the parking destination may continue while manual selection is not received via the displayed change reception screen. When the parking control unit 156 detects that automatic parking has been completely or substantially completed (for example, when the parking control unit 156 detects that a predetermined percentage or more of the vehicle 50 has entered the parking space), the UI control unit 157 may hide (or reduce) the change acceptance screen and display a different screen on the touch panel 131.

[0044] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and includes various modified examples. For example, the above embodiment has been described in detail to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to an embodiment having all of the configurations described. In addition, the configurations may be replaced or added, not limited to the deletion of the configurations.

[0045] For example, in the above embodiment, the parking assistance device 100 mounted on the vehicle 50 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to an information processing device as an in-vehicle device. For example, some functions of the parking assistance device 100 may be provided in a device outside the vehicle 50 that can communicate with the in-vehicle device (for example, a server device on a communication network). In this case, the parking assistance device 100 may be a device composed of the in-vehicle device and a device outside the vehicle 50.

[0046] 8A, even if there are a plurality of parking spaces 301C and 301D in which it is determined that a part of the vehicle 50 is located, if the parking space detection unit 152 detects an empty parking space 301E adjacent to at least one of the parking spaces 301C and 301D in the traveling direction of the vehicle 50 by using the acquired surrounding conditions (and if the UI control unit 157 receives an operation to continue the manual mode), the mode management unit 155 may continue the manual mode. This allows the driver to park the vehicle 50 in the parking space 301E by manual driving as shown in FIG. 8B.

[0047] Also, for example, in S207 of FIG. 2, the driving mode is switched from the manual mode to the automatic mode, and then in S208, the parking control unit 156 generates a parking path, but the timing of generating the parking path is not limited to this. The parking control unit 156 may calculate the parking path in real time (for example, after S201: Yes, S202: Yes, or S203: Yes, calculate the parking path each time at least one of the position, orientation, speed, and traveling direction of the vehicle 50 changes by a certain amount) without the mode management unit 155 switching the driving mode from the manual mode to the automatic mode (in other words, regardless of whether the driving mode is the manual mode or the automatic mode), and display the calculated parking path on the touch panel 131 (an example of a display device). With such processing, when the parking assistance mode is on, the parking path is always displayed on the touch panel 131 after a certain timing, making it easy for the driver to understand the parking path. In this example, when the driving mode is switched from the manual mode to the automatic mode, automatic parking may be performed along the latest calculated parking path. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 50: vehicle, 100: parking assistance device, 151: surroundings condition acquisition unit, 152: parking space detection unit, 153: position determination unit, 154: parking space selection unit, 156: parking control unit

Claims

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

2. a mode management unit that switches a driving mode of the vehicle from a manual mode to an automatic mode when a parking space is selected by the parking space selection unit; Further comprising: When the driving mode is the manual mode, the vehicle is manually driven to be positioned in a portion of the detected parking space; When the driving mode is the automatic mode, the parking control is performed as automatic driving performed by the parking control unit.

2. The parking assistance device according to claim 1.

3. When there are a plurality of parking spaces in which it is determined that a part of the vehicle is located, the parking space selection unit selects a parking space for the vehicle from the plurality of parking spaces using an approach direction of the vehicle into the plurality of parking spaces and a relative positional relationship between the plurality of parking spaces and the vehicle.

2. The parking assistance device according to claim 1.

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

5. The parking space selection unit is configured to select a parking space from the parking space selection unit by using the surrounding situation information acquired by the surrounding situation acquisition unit. In the parking control, the parking control unit determines whether to park the vehicle from the front side or the rear side according to the approach direction specified by the parking space selection unit and used as the basis for selecting the parking space, and places the vehicle in the parking space selected by the parking space selection unit from the determined side.

4. The parking assistance device according to claim 3.

6. The parking space selection unit is configured to select a parking space from the parking space selection unit by using the surrounding situation information acquired by the surrounding situation acquisition unit. In the parking control, the parking control unit determines whether the vehicle is to be parked from the front side or the rear side according to the specified approach direction, and places the vehicle in the parking space selected by the parking space selection unit from the determined side.

2. The parking assistance device according to claim 1.

7. Acquire the situation around the vehicle, Detecting a parking space in which the vehicle can be parked using the surroundings of the vehicle; determining whether the location of the vehicle is located within a portion of the detected parking space; If it is determined that the vehicle is located in a portion of a parking space, selecting the detected parking space as a parking space for the vehicle; performing parking control of the vehicle so that the vehicle fits into the selected parking space; A parking assistance method that performs the above steps using a computer.

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