Parking assist system

Abstract

The system assists with parking maneuvers when the target parking area is located in an environment where it is not possible to move forward beyond a predetermined threshold distance required as part of the parking operation. [Solution] The parking assistance device includes an information acquisition unit 11 that acquires surrounding situation information from a sensor 410, a parking area determination unit 12 that determines whether the target parking area PA5 is a specific parking area at the front position or along the approach path r10 to the front position, a reversible area identification unit 13 that identifies reversible areas Ar1 and Ar2 in the area including the approach path using the surrounding situation information when it is determined that the target parking area is a specific parking area, an operation support unit 14 that supports a first operation which is the operation of the vehicle to reach the reversible area, and a parking assistance unit 15 that supports the reversal operation of the vehicle using the reversible area and parks the vehicle in the target parking area after the direction has been changed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a parking assistance device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, parking assistance devices for assisting in parking vehicles in a parking lot have been proposed. As a roadway (road) in a parking lot, there may be provided a roadway whose one end is blocked by a wall, a fence, or the like. The parking assistance device of Patent Document 1 stores in advance combinations of a reverse start position and a final parking position, specifies the reverse start position from a captured image obtained by an in-vehicle camera, and automatically drives the vehicle to perform a predetermined turning operation while reversing from such a position toward the stored final parking position.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Patent Document 1 describes a system that, even on a road that ends in a dead end, performs parking operations according to a pre-stored combination of a reverse starting position and a final parking position, just like on any other road. However, in configurations where the parking area is located near a wall or other structure that constitutes a dead end, attempting to perform the parking assistance described in Patent Document 1 may be impossible because there is insufficient distance to match the pre-stored combination of a reverse starting position and a final parking position. For example, if the distance from the final parking position to the wall or other structure is short, it may not be possible to perform forward movement beyond the final parking position to the planned reverse starting position, thus making parking assistance impossible. For this reason, there is a need for a technology that can assist with parking operations when the target parking area is located in an environment where it is not possible to perform forward movement beyond a predetermined threshold distance required as part of the parking operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a parking assistance device (100, 100a) is provided to assist in parking a vehicle (Vc0). This parking assistance device includes an information acquisition unit (11) that acquires surrounding condition information indicating the surrounding condition from a sensor (410) mounted on the vehicle that detects the surrounding condition of the vehicle, and a parking area determination unit that determines, at the front position or along the approach path (r10) to the front position, whether the target parking area (PA5), which is the parking area that the vehicle is aiming to park, is a specific parking area, which is a parking area located in an environment where the vehicle cannot perform a forward movement of more than a predetermined threshold distance necessary as part of the parking operation when the vehicle is positioned in front of the parking area. 12) The system includes: a reversible area identification unit (13) that, when it is determined that the target parking area is the specified parking area, uses the surrounding situation information to identify reversible areas (Ar1, Ar2) which are available areas in the area including the approach path that can be used to perform a reversal operation to change the direction of the vehicle; an operation support unit (14) that supports a first operation which is the operation of the vehicle to reach the reversible area; and a parking support unit (15) that supports the reversal operation of the vehicle using the reversible area and parks the vehicle in the target parking area after the direction has been changed.

[0006] According to this type of parking assistance device, when the target parking area is determined to be a specific parking area, the device uses surrounding situation information to identify a reversible area, which is an empty area within the area including the approach path that can be used to perform a reversal operation to change the direction of the vehicle. The device then assists the vehicle's first movement to the reversible area, assists the vehicle's reversal operation using the reversible area, and parks the vehicle in the target parking area after changing direction. Thus, the device can assist with parking operations even when the target parking area is located in an environment where it is not possible to perform a forward movement beyond a predetermined threshold distance required as part of the parking operation. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of a parking assistance device as one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a parking lot and the approach route set up within it. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart showing the procedure for the parking assistance process in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a region that can be inverted. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an example of the vehicle's movement path when steps S140 to S150 are performed in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the parking assist device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] This is a flowchart showing the procedure for the parking assistance process in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] A. First Embodiment: A1. Equipment configuration: The parking assist device 100 of the first embodiment shown in Figure 1 is mounted on a vehicle Vc0 and assists in parking the vehicle Vc0. The vehicle Vc0 is configured to be capable of both automated and manual driving. Automated driving means driving in a state where at least some of the basic operations of the vehicle Vc0, such as driving, turning, and stopping, as well as various processes such as turning on the lights and operating the wipers, are controlled by the parking assist device 100 or other control devices (not shown). On the other hand, manual driving means driving in a state where all of the above basic operations are controlled by the occupants of the vehicle Vc0. As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle Vc0 includes the parking assist device 100, a sensor 410, a man-machine interface unit 150 (hereinafter also referred to as "MHI unit 150"), an operation execution unit 200, and an operation control unit 300. The parking assist device 100 is configured to communicate with the sensor 410, the MHI unit 150, and the operation control unit 300 via an in-vehicle network. For the in-vehicle network, for example, CAN (Controller Area Network), LIN (Local Interconnect Network), Flex Ray, or Ethernet (registered trademark) may be used.

[0009] Sensor 410 detects the surrounding conditions of the vehicle Vc0. Sensor 410 transmits the detection results to the parking assist device 100. In this embodiment, sensor 410 comprises an imaging unit 411, a millimeter-wave radar 412, and an acoustic wave sensor 413. The imaging unit 411 captures images of the area around the vehicle Vc0 and obtains captured images. The millimeter-wave radar 412 and acoustic wave sensor 413 emit millimeter waves or acoustic waves and detect the position and distance to objects by receiving reflected waves reflected by objects present around the vehicle Vc0. Note that the "object" detected by the millimeter-wave radar 412 is a collection of multiple detection points (targets).

[0010] The MHI unit 150 includes a display device (not shown) and an operation panel for the occupant of the vehicle Vc0, and exchanges information between the parking assist device 100 and the occupant. The MHI unit 150 may be implemented, for example, by a touch panel type liquid crystal display. The occupant can use the MHI unit 150 to select various processing menus, and when the parking area detected by the sensor 410 is displayed on the display device (not shown), they can specify a target parking area (hereinafter referred to as the "target parking area") from among the parking areas.

[0011] For example, as shown in Figure 2, when the occupant turns left from lane R1 to lane R2 in parking lot Pa, they stop vehicle Vc0 and select a menu for automatic parking using the MHI unit 150. This allows the system to detect available parking spaces within the detection range Sa1 of the millimeter-wave radar 412 and the acoustic sensor 413, and within the detection range Sa2 of the imaging unit 411. In the example in Figure 2, of the eight parking spaces PA1, PA2, PA3, PA4, PA5, PA6, PA7, and PA8, vehicles are already parked in seven of the eight spaces, excluding parking space PA5. Specifically, vehicle Vc1 is parked in parking space PA1. Additionally, vehicle Vc2 is already parked in parking space PA2, vehicle Vc3 in parking space PA3, vehicle Vc4 in parking space PA4, vehicle Vc6 in parking space PA6, vehicle Vc7 in parking space PA7, and vehicle Vc8 in parking space PA8. Therefore, in this case, only parking area PA5 is detected as a parking area. When the occupant designates this parking area PA5 as the target parking area, the parking assistance process described later is executed. Here, the road R2 is a dead end at one end due to wall W1. And parking area PA5 is located near wall W1. For this reason, even if vehicle Vc0 moves to the front of parking area PA5, it cannot move forward any further. Even in such a case, the parking assistance process described later is executed, allowing vehicle Vc0 to be parked in reverse in parking area PA5. "Parking in reverse" means parking with the front side of vehicle Vc0 located closer to the entrance of the parking area and the rear side of vehicle Vc0 located further away from the entrance of the parking area. Hereafter, vehicle Vc0 will also be referred to as "our vehicle Vc0".

[0012] The parking assistance device 100 shown in Figure 1 is configured as a computer having a CPU 10, ROM 20, and RAM 30 that can communicate with each other via an internal bus 90. The ROM 20 may be composed of a rewritable non-volatile memory, such as an EEPROM. The CPU 10 functions as an information acquisition unit 11, a parking area determination unit 12, a reversible area identification unit 13, an operation support unit 14, a parking assistance unit 15, and an information recording unit 16 by loading a computer program pre-stored in the ROM 20 into the RAM 30 and executing it.

[0013] The information acquisition unit 11 acquires information from the sensor 410 indicating the surrounding conditions of the vehicle Vc0 (hereinafter referred to as "surrounding conditions information"). Surrounding conditions information includes features detected by the sensor 410, such as the positions of other vehicles Vc1 to Vc9 shown in Figure 2, the positions of the lane markings indicating parking areas PA1 to PA8, and the position of wall W1.

[0014] The parking area determination unit 12 determines whether the target parking area designated by the occupant is a specific parking area. A "specific parking area" means a parking area located in an environment where, with the vehicle Vc0 positioned in front of the parking area, the vehicle Vc0 cannot move forward by a predetermined threshold distance or more as part of the parking operation. In this embodiment, the "threshold distance" is 3m (meters). However, it is not limited to 3m; it may be any distance that allows the vehicle Vc0 to turn around so that it is aligned with the front-to-back direction of the target parking area in order to reverse and enter the target parking area. Such a threshold distance may be determined by the size of the vehicle Vc0, the minimum turning radius, etc. For example, as described above, parking area PA5 in Figure 2 is a parking area located in an environment where, with the vehicle Vc0 positioned in front of parking area PA5, the vehicle Vc0 cannot move forward by a threshold distance or more towards the wall W1 as part of the parking operation (parking while reversing), due to the presence of the wall W1. The parking area determination unit 12 detects the position of wall W1 and the position of parking area PA5 from the detection results of sensor 410, and can determine from these positions that parking area PA5 is a specific parking area.

[0015] The reversible area identification unit 13, when it determines that the target parking area is a specific parking area, uses surrounding situation information to identify an available area (hereinafter referred to as the "reversible area") that can be used to perform an action to change the direction of the vehicle Vc0 (hereinafter referred to as the "reversal action") within the area including the approach path. The "approach path" refers to the path from the current position of the vehicle Vc0 to the front position of the target parking area. Details of the reversible area will be described later.

[0016] The motion support unit 14 assists the movement of the vehicle Vc0 to reach the reversible area (hereinafter referred to as the "first movement"). Specifically, it instructs the motion control unit 300 to move the vehicle Vc0 by automatic driving so that it reaches the reversible area.

[0017] The parking support unit 15 parks the vehicle Vc0 in the target parking area by means of automatic driving. For example, it supports the reversing operation of the host vehicle Vc0 using the reversible area, and parks the host vehicle Vc0 after the orientation is reversed in the target parking area.

[0018] The information recording unit 16 records, in the ROM 20, information indicating the trajectory of the movement of the host vehicle Vc0 (hereinafter referred to as "trajectory information") and information indicating the operation history of the actuator that operates the host vehicle Vc0 (hereinafter referred to as "operation history information"). The above-mentioned actuator means various actuators included in the operation execution unit 200. And the "operation history information" may be information indicating the history of command values notified from the operation control unit 300 to the operation execution unit 200.

[0019] A2. Parking support process: As described above, when the occupant of the vehicle Vc0 designates the target parking area using the MHI unit 150, the parking support process shown in FIG. 3 is executed. In step S105, the parking area determination unit 12 determines whether the target parking area is a specific parking area. Hereinafter, "step S" will be simply described as "S". If it is determined that the target parking area is not a specific parking area (S105: NO), the parking support unit 15 executes normal parking support in S110. "Normal parking support" means causing the host vehicle Vc0 to perform a preset operation as an operation for parking in a state of being reversed with respect to the target parking area. Specifically, for example, if there is no parked vehicle in the parking area PA8 shown in FIG. 2 and the parking area PA8 is designated as the target parking area, it is determined that the parking area PA8 is not a specific parking area. In this case, the parking support unit 15 moves the host vehicle Vc0 from the front position of the parking area PA8 to a position in front of the threshold distance and stops it, and then reverses the host vehicle Vc0 while turning the steering wheel to move it to the parking area PA8 which is the target parking area. After the completion of S110, the parking support process ends.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, when it is determined that the target parking area is a specific parking area (S105: YES), the parking support unit 15 controls the operation control unit 300 in S115 to move the host vehicle Vc0 forward toward the front position of the target parking area. In S120, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires the surrounding situation information. Here, S120 is executed simultaneously with S115. That is, the surrounding situation information detected by the sensor 410 when the host vehicle Vc0 is moving forward toward the front position of the target parking area is acquired. In S125, the parking support unit 15 determines whether the host vehicle Vc0 has arrived at the front position of the target parking area. When it is determined that the host vehicle Vc0 has not arrived at the front position of the target parking area (S120: NO), the process returns to S115 described above. Therefore, until the host vehicle Vc0 arrives at the target parking area, the host vehicle Vc0 moves forward and the surrounding situation information is acquired.

[0021] When it is determined that the host vehicle Vc0 has arrived at the front position of the target parking area (S120: YES), the reversible area specifying unit 13 specifies the reversible area in S130 and determines the presence or absence of the reversible area in S135.

[0022] In the example shown in Figure 4, the vehicle Vc0 moves forward along the approach path r10 from the starting position ps to the front position of the target parking area PA5, and arrives at that front position. In this example, two rectangular areas are identified as reversible areas Ar1 and Ar2. Reversible area Ar1 is the area within the road R1 adjacent to position ps, and is adjacent to parking area PA4. Reversible area Ar2 is the empty area in front of the vehicle Vc2 in parking area PA2. The reversible area identification unit 13 refers to a pre-set table, for example, to identify these two areas Ar1 and Ar2 as reversible areas. Specifically, the relative position with respect to the target parking area and the size of the area that can be used to park in the target parking area by moving the vehicle Vc0 in reverse, steering, and forward motion may be identified in advance through experiments or simulations and compiled into a table. In S130, the reversible area may be identified from among the empty areas identified by the surrounding situation information by referring to this table. In the table above, "relative position relative to the target parking area" refers to the relative position coordinates of the four corners of the rectangular empty area, for example, relative to a position that represents the target parking area. The "position that represents the target parking area" may be any position that represents the target parking area, such as the position closest to the vehicle Vc0 traveling along the approach path within the target parking area, or the center of gravity of the target parking area.

[0023] If it is determined that there is no area where the vehicle can be turned around (S135: NO), the parking support unit 15 notifies the MHI unit 150 in S155 that parking support is not possible, and the parking support process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is an area where the vehicle can be turned around (S135: YES), the operation support unit 14 in S140 assists in the first operation to reach the nearest area where the vehicle can be turned around from the current position, i.e., the front position of the target parking area. In the example in Figure 4, the first operation to reach the closer area where the vehicle can be turned around, Ar2, of the two areas where the vehicle can be turned around, Ar1 and Ar2, is supported. At this time, the operation support unit 14 uses the trajectory information and operation history information recorded in the information recording unit 16 to move (reverse) the vehicle Vc0 along the approach path r10 to the area where the vehicle can be turned around, Ar2. For example, the vehicle Vc0 can be reversed along the approach path r10 by using the trajectory history information. Furthermore, for example, by utilizing the actuator's operation history information, during the execution of S115, it is possible to identify what steering angle and acceleration the vehicle Vc0 traveled at each position from the reversible area Ar2 to the front position of the target parking area, and then, by driving with the opposite steering angle and acceleration, the vehicle Vc0 can be reversed along the approach path r10.

[0024] In S145, the parking support unit 15 assists in the reversing operation of the vehicle Vc0 using the reversible area. The orientation of the vehicle Vc0 is changed by the execution of S145. In S150, the parking support unit 15 assists in the reversing operation towards the target parking area. After the completion of S150 or S155 described above, the parking support process ends.

[0025] Figure 5 shows the change in the position of the front tip of the vehicle Vc0 when S140 to S150 is performed, indicated by positions p0 to p5. In the example in Figure 5, for convenience, the position of the front tip of the vehicle Vc0 is described as the position of the vehicle Vc0. In S140, the vehicle Vc0 moves from position p0 to position p1. Position p1 is a position that has been set in advance as a relative position with respect to the reversible area, and is the starting point for performing a reversal operation using the reversible area Ar2, which has been identified as the closest reversible area. In S145, the vehicle Vc0 moves from position p1 to positions p2, p3, and p4 in that order. In S150, the vehicle Vc0 moves from position p4 to position p5. As described above, in this embodiment, the reversible area to be used to actually perform the reversible operation is selected from the reversible areas identified in S130 that are closest to the front position of the target parking area. This is to reduce the distance traveled by the vehicle Vc0 when executing S140 to S150, thereby making the area required to execute S140 to S150 more compact and reducing the possibility of malfunctions occurring during such operations.

[0026] According to the parking assistance device 100 of the embodiment described above, when the target parking area PA5 is determined to be a specific parking area, surrounding situation information is used to identify reversible areas Ar1 and Ar2, which are available areas in the area including the approach path r10 that can be used to perform a reversal operation to change the direction of the vehicle Vc0. The device then assists in a first operation to reach the reversible area Ar2, assists in the reversal operation of the vehicle Vc0 using the reversible area Ar2, and parks the vehicle Vc0 in the target parking area PA5 after changing its direction. Thus, the device can assist in the parking operation of the vehicle Vc0 even when the target parking area PA5 is located in an environment where it is not possible to perform a forward operation beyond a predetermined threshold distance necessary as part of the parking operation.

[0027] Furthermore, trajectory information showing the movement path of the vehicle Vc0 and operation history information of the actuator that operates the vehicle Vc0 are recorded. Using the trajectory information and operation history information, the vehicle Vc0 is moved along the approach path r10 to a position where the reversible area Ar2 can be used in the first operation. Thus, in the first operation, the vehicle Vc0 can be moved with high precision along the approach path r10 to a position where the reversible area Ar2 can be used. The path taken in the first operation is a path that was taken once in S115, so safety has been confirmed. Therefore, safety in the first operation can be enhanced.

[0028] Furthermore, when the reversible area identification unit 12 identifies multiple reversible areas Ar1 and Ar2 in the area including the approach path r10, the operation support unit 14 assists in the first operation to reach the nearest reversible area Ar2 from the current position (the front position of the target parking area). Compared to a configuration that assists in the first operation to reach a reversible area Ar1 that is further from the current position, the area required from the first operation to the parking operation can be made more compact. Therefore, the possibility of malfunctions occurring during the execution of these operations can be reduced.

[0029] B. Second Embodiment: The parking assist device 100a of the second embodiment shown in Figure 6 differs from the parking assist device 100 of the first embodiment only in that the CPU 10 also functions as a parking operation time estimation unit 17. In the parking assist device 100a of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for components that are the same as those in the parking assist device 100 of the first embodiment, and their detailed descriptions are omitted.

[0030] The parking operation time estimation unit 17 utilizes the reversible area from the front position of the target parking area. The parking operation time is estimated by adding the time required for the first operation to reach the position, the time required for the reversing operation, and the time required to park the vehicle Vc0 in the target parking area after the change of direction. The "time required for the first operation" mentioned above may be specified in S115 as the time from the position where the reversible area is available along the approach path r10 to the front position of the target parking area. The "time required for the reversing operation" may be specified in advance by experiment or simulation based on the position and size of the reversible area and compiled into a table. Generally, the more reversals required, the longer the time required for the reversing operation. The "time required to park the vehicle Vc0 in the target parking area after the change of direction" may be specified in advance by experiment or simulation based on the distance between the reversible area and the target parking area and compiled into a table.

[0031] The parking assistance process of the second embodiment shown in Figure 7 differs from the parking assistance process of the first embodiment in that S138 is newly executed after the completion of S135, and S140a is executed instead of S140. The other steps in the parking assistance process of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, so the same reference numerals are used for the same steps, and their detailed explanation is omitted.

[0032] After the completion of S135, the parking operation time estimation unit 17 estimates the parking operation time for each reversible region identified in S130 (S138). For example, in the example in Figure 5, the parking operation assistance time is estimated for each of the two reversible regions Ar1 and Ar2.

[0033] In S140a, the operation support unit 14 assists in the first operation to reach the reversible area corresponding to the shortest parking operation time from the current position, i.e., the front position of the target parking area. For example, unlike the example in Figure 2, in a configuration in which two or more reversing operations are performed in a reversing operation using the reversible area Ar2, the parking operation time for the reversible area Ar1 may be shorter because only one reversing operation is performed in a reversing operation using the reversible area Ar1. In this case, unlike the first embodiment, in S140a, the first operation of the vehicle Vc0 to reach the reversible area Ar1 is supported.

[0034] The parking assistance device 100a of the second embodiment described above has the same effects as the parking assistance device 100 of the first embodiment. In addition, when the reversible area identification unit 12 identifies multiple reversible areas in the area including the approach path r10, the operation support unit 14 assists in the first operation to reach the reversible area Ar1 that corresponds to the shortest parking operation time among the multiple reversible areas Ar1 and Ar2. Therefore, compared to a configuration that assists in the first operation to reach the reversible area Ar2 that corresponds to a longer parking operation time, the time to park the vehicle Vc0 can be shortened. Furthermore, the system may be configured to execute a combination of the first and second embodiments described above. Specifically, for example, the system may be configured so that the crew member specifies, using the MHI unit 150, which of S140 and S140a should be prioritized for execution. In such a configuration, only the processes specified by the crew member may be executed.

[0035] C. Other embodiments: (C1) In each embodiment, the information recording unit 16 recorded both trajectory information and operation history information in the ROM 20, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The information recording unit 16 may record only one of the trajectory information or operation history information in the ROM 20. In such a configuration, in S140 and S140a, the information recorded in the ROM 20 can be used to support the first operation to reach the reversible area. The information recording unit 16 may also be omitted. In such a configuration, the first operation to reach the reversible area from the front position of the target parking area may be performed while the surrounding conditions behind the vehicle Vc0 are detected by the sensor 410.

[0036] (C2) In each embodiment, one end of the road R2 was a dead end due to the presence of wall W1, but it may be a dead end for any reason other than wall W1. For example, it may be a dead end due to the presence of a fence or traffic cones (registered trademark), or because another vehicle is temporarily stopped due to congestion.

[0037] (C3) In each embodiment, steps S115 to S125 were performed until the vehicle Vc0 arrived at the front position of the target parking area, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The vehicle may proceed along the approach path r10 to the front position of the target parking area, identifying areas where it can turn around, and if even one area where it can turn around is identified, it may stop S115 (forward movement). In such a configuration, the movement support unit 14 may support a first movement to get the vehicle Vc0 from its current position, i.e., the point where it stopped, to the identified area where it can turn around.

[0038] (C4) In each embodiment, S115 was realized by automatic driving by the parking assist unit 15, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. Manual driving may be performed until the vehicle reaches the front position of the target parking space. In such a configuration, when the vehicle reaches the front position of the target parking space, the system may notify the driver and switch from manual driving to automatic driving.

[0039] (C5) The parking assistance devices 100, 100a and their methods described in this disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied by a computer program. Alternatively, the parking assistance devices 100, 100a and their methods described in this disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor by one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the parking assistance devices 100, 100a and their methods described in this disclosure may be implemented by one or more dedicated computers configured by a combination of a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions and a processor configured by one or more hardware logic circuits. The computer program may also be stored as instructions executed by the computer on a computer-readable non-transitional tangible recording medium.

[0040] This disclosure can be implemented in various forms. For example, it can be implemented in the form of a parking assistance method, a computer program for implementing a parking assistance device or parking assistance method, or a non-temporary recording medium on which such a computer program is stored.

[0041] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from its spirit. For example, the technical features in each embodiment corresponding to the technical features in the embodiments described in the summary of the invention can be replaced or combined as appropriate in order to solve some or all of the above-described problems, or to achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate. This disclosure can be implemented, for example, in the form of a control method for a collision damage mitigation function, a computer program for implementing such a method, or a non-temporary recording medium on which such computer program is recorded. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 11...Information acquisition unit, 12...Parking area determination unit, Ar1, Ar2...Reversible area, 13...Reversible area identification unit, 14...Operation support unit, 15...Parking support unit, 100, 100a...Parking support device, 410...Sensor, PA5...Target parking area, r10...Approach path, Vc0...Vehicle (own vehicle)

Claims

1. A parking assist device (100, 100a) that assists in parking a vehicle (Vc0), An information acquisition unit (11) acquires surrounding condition information indicating the surrounding conditions from a sensor (410) mounted on the vehicle that detects the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, A parking area determination unit (12) determines, at the front position or along the approach path (r10) to the front position, whether the target parking area (PA5), which is the parking area that the vehicle is targeting for parking, is a specific parking area located in an environment where the vehicle cannot perform a forward movement of more than a predetermined threshold distance necessary as part of the parking operation when the vehicle is positioned in front of the parking area, When the target parking area is determined to be the specified parking area, the reversible area identification unit (13) identifies reversible areas (Ar1, Ar2), which are available areas in the area including the approach path that can be used to perform a reversal operation to change the direction of the vehicle, using the surrounding situation information. An operation support unit (14) that supports the first operation, which is the operation of the vehicle to reach the reversible region, A parking support unit (15) assists the reversal operation of the vehicle using the reversible region and parks the vehicle in the target parking area after the direction has been changed, A parking assist device equipped with the following features.

2. A parking assist device according to claim 1, The system further includes an information recording unit (16) that records at least one of the following: trajectory information indicating the movement trajectory of the vehicle and operation history information of the actuator that operates the vehicle. The aforementioned operation support unit is a parking support device that, in the first operation, uses at least one of the trajectory information and the operation history information to move the vehicle along the approach path to a position where the reversible area can be used.

3. In the parking assistance device according to claim 1 or claim 2, The operation support unit is a parking support device that, when the reversible area identification unit identifies a plurality of reversible areas in the area including the approach path, supports the first operation from the vehicle's current position to the nearest reversible area.

4. A parking assist device according to claim 1 or claim 2, The system further includes a parking operation time estimation unit (17) that estimates the parking operation time, which is the sum of the time required for the first operation, the time required for the reversal operation, and the time required to park the vehicle in the target parking area after its orientation has been reversed. The parking operation time estimation unit estimates the parking operation time for each of the reversible areas when the reversible area identification unit identifies a plurality of reversible areas in the area including the approach path. The operation support unit is a parking support device that, when a plurality of reversible regions are identified in the region including the approach path by the reversible region identification unit, supports the first operation up to the reversible region corresponding to the shortest parking operation time among the plurality of reversible regions.

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