Control device, vehicle, and control method

Abstract

To optimize a movement path.SOLUTION: A control device includes: a movement path acquisition part 110 that acquires movement paths R1, R2, R3, R4 in advance when a vehicle VH is parked in a parking area PA before execution of automatic parking control; an optimization processing part 120 that executes optimization processing that sets the path in which unnecessary paths R2, R3 are removed from the movement paths R1, R2, R3, R4 in optimal movement paths RD, RR when the paths R2, R3 unnecessary for parking the vehicle VH in the parking area PA are included in the movement paths R1, R2, R3, R4; and an automatic control part 150 that executes automatic parking control based on the movement paths R1, R2, R3, R4 acquired by the movement path acquisition part 110 when the optimization processing is not executed, and executes the automatic parking control based on the optimal movement paths RD, RR when the optimization processing is executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[[TECHNICAL FIELD]]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device, a vehicle, and a control method. [[BACKGROUND ART]]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device capable of setting an optimal parking position for parking a vehicle, setting an optimal travel route by superimposing the terminal end of a pre-stored travel route on the optimal parking position, and executing automatic parking control that automatically operates a steering device so that the vehicle travels along the optimal travel route. [[PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS]] [[PATENT DOCUMENTS]]

[0003] [[Patent Document 1]] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-114274 [[SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION]]

[0004] In the device described in Patent Document 1, when a start position at which automatic parking control is started deviates from the optimal start position, the deviation of the start position is corrected to enable the vehicle to reach the optimal parking position. However, if the pre-stored travel route includes an unnecessary route, the unnecessary route will be reproduced when executing automatic parking control even when the deviation of the start position is corrected. That is, there is room for improvement in optimization of the travel route.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problem, and an object of the present disclosure is to optimize a travel route used for automatic parking control or automatic exit control.

[0006] The apparatus of the present disclosure is a vehicle control device capable of performing automatic parking control for automatically parking a vehicle (VH) in a parking lot (PA) and / or automatic exit control for automatically exiting the vehicle (VH) from the parking lot (PA), wherein, before performing the automatic parking control or the automatic exit control, a movement path acquisition unit (110) acquires in advance the movement path (R1, R2, R3, R4) of the vehicle (VH) when parking the vehicle (VH) in or exiting the parking lot (PA), and the movement path (R1, R2, R3, R4) acquired by the movement path acquisition unit (110) is used to move the vehicle (VH) in or out of the parking lot (PA). The system includes: an optimization processing unit (120) that performs an optimization process to set the optimal movement path (RD, RR) to a movement path (R1, R2, R3, R4) from which unnecessary paths (R2, R3) have been removed if unnecessary paths (R2, R3) are included; and an automatic control unit (150) that, if the optimization processing unit (120) does not perform the optimization process, performs the automatic parking control or the automatic exit control based on the movement path (R1, R2, R3, R4) acquired by the movement path acquisition unit (110), and if the optimization processing unit (120) performs the optimization process, performs the automatic parking control or the automatic exit control based on the optimal movement path (RD, RR). [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of the vehicle according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram showing the software configuration of the control device according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle movement path obtained when parking manually operated by the driver. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a movement path optimization process. [Figure 5] This flowchart explains the routines for acquiring travel paths and optimizing routes. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart illustrating the routine for automatic parking control. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The control device, vehicle, and control method according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0009] [Hardware configuration] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of a vehicle VH according to this embodiment. The vehicle VH has an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 10. The ECU 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, and an interface device 14, etc. The CPU 11 is a processor that executes various programs stored in the ROM 12. The ROM 12 is a non-volatile memory that stores data necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various programs. The RAM 13 is a volatile memory that provides a work area that is expanded when various programs are executed by the CPU 11. The interface device 14 is a communication device for communicating with external devices.

[0010] The ECU10 is a central device that performs automatic parking control to automatically park the vehicle VH in a parking lot and automatic exit control to automatically exit the vehicle VH from a parking lot. In this embodiment, automatic parking control and automatic exit control are performed on parking lots that the driver has registered in advance, such as the parking lot at home or work, which is used relatively frequently. Hereinafter, registered parking lots will be referred to as "pre-registered parking lots". The target parking lots are not limited to parking lots with parking spaces demarcated by white lines, etc., but any parking lot that can secure space for the vehicle VH to enter can be registered as a pre-registered parking lot. A pre-registered parking lot is registered by acquiring the movement path when the driver manually parks the vehicle VH in the parking lot or exits the parking lot, and storing the acquired movement path linked to the location information of the parking lot.

[0011] Automatic parking control of vehicle VH to a pre-registered parking space and automatic exit control from a pre-registered parking space are performed by driving vehicle VH along a pre-stored travel route. In this embodiment, automatic parking control to a pre-registered parking space and automatic exit control can be performed not only when the driver is in vehicle VH, but also by remote operation where the driver gets out of vehicle VH and sends commands from an external location. Since automatic parking control and automatic exit control are basically the same process, automatic parking control will be described below.

[0012] The ECU10 is connected to the drive unit 20, steering unit 21, braking unit 22, transmission unit 23, internal sensor device 30, external sensor device 40, position information acquisition device 50, automatic parking switch 60, display device 70, speaker 75, etc., in a manner that allows for communication.

[0013] The drive unit 20 generates driving force transmitted to the drive wheels of the vehicle VH. Examples of the drive unit 20 include an electric motor and an engine. In this embodiment, the vehicle VH may be a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), a battery electric vehicle (BEV), or an engine-powered vehicle. The steering unit 21 applies steering force to the wheels of the vehicle VH. The braking unit 22 applies braking force to the wheels of the vehicle VH. The transmission unit 23 is configured to be selectively switchable between a parking range that locks the rotation of the drive wheels, a reverse range that allows the vehicle VH to move in reverse, a neutral range that cuts off power transmission, and a drive range that allows the vehicle VH to move forward.

[0014] The internal sensor device 30 consists of sensors that detect the state of the vehicle VH. Specifically, the internal sensor device 30 includes a vehicle speed sensor 31, an accelerator sensor 32, a brake sensor 33, a steering angle sensor 34, a shift sensor 35, etc. The vehicle speed sensor 31 detects the vehicle speed, i.e., the vehicle speed. The accelerator sensor 32 detects the amount of accelerator pedal operation by the driver (not shown). The brake sensor 33 detects the amount of brake pedal operation by the driver (not shown). The steering angle sensor 34 detects the rotation angle of the steering wheel or steering shaft (not shown), i.e., the steering angle. The shift sensor 35 detects the shift position of the transmission 23. The internal sensor device 30 transmits the state of the vehicle VH detected by each sensor 31 to 35 to the ECU 10 at a predetermined interval.

[0015] The external sensor device 40 is a set of sensors that recognize target information regarding targets around the vehicle VH. Specifically, the external sensor device 40 includes a radar sensor 41, a sonar sensor 42, a camera sensor 43, etc. The radar sensor 41 includes a millimeter-wave radar and / or a lidar. The millimeter-wave radar emits radio waves in the millimeter-wave band and receives reflected waves reflected by targets within its radiation range to acquire the relative distance, relative speed, etc., between the vehicle VH and the target. The lidar sequentially scans pulsed laser light with a wavelength shorter than millimeter waves in multiple directions and receives reflected light reflected by targets to acquire the shape of the target, the relative distance, relative speed, etc., between the vehicle VH and the target. The sonar sensor 42 emits ultrasonic waves and receives reflected waves reflected by targets within its radiation range to acquire the relative distance, relative speed, etc., between the vehicle VH and the target. The camera sensor 43 is, for example, a stereo camera or a monocular camera, and a digital camera having an image sensor such as a CMOS or CCD can be used. The camera sensor 43 processes the captured image data to acquire the shape of the target, the relative distance between the vehicle VH and the target, the relative speed, etc. The external sensor device 40 transmits the acquired target information to the ECU 10 at a predetermined interval. The external sensor device 40 does not necessarily need to include all of the radar sensor 41, sonar sensor 42, and camera sensor 43; for example, it may include only the camera sensor 43.

[0016] The location information acquisition device 50 acquires the current location information of the vehicle VH. For example, the location information acquisition device 50 can use a GPS (Global Positioning System), GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), or other system provided by a navigation device (not shown). The location information acquisition device 50 transmits the acquired current location information of the vehicle VH to the ECU 10 at predetermined intervals.

[0017] The automatic parking switch 60 is located, for example, on the center console or instrument panel of the vehicle VH, and is operated ON / OFF by the occupant of the vehicle VH (for example, the driver). When the automatic parking switch 60 is turned ON, the ECU 10 receives a request to start automatic parking.

[0018] The display device 70 is a touch-panel type display (for example, a touch-panel type liquid crystal display) provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle VH, and displays various images in response to commands from the ECU 10. The speaker 75 is, for example, a speaker of an audio system or navigation device, and outputs sound in response to commands from the ECU 10.

[0019] [Software Configuration] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the software configuration of the ECU 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the ECU 10 includes a travel path acquisition unit 110, a path optimization processing unit 120, a registered parking space storage unit 130, a parking space notification processing unit 140, and an automatic parking control unit 150 as functional elements. Each of these functional elements 100 to 150 is realized by the CPU 11 of the ECU 10 reading a program stored in the ROM 12 into the RAM 13 and executing it. Note that all or part of each of the functional elements 100 to 150 may be provided in another ECU separate from the ECU 10, or in an information processing device of a facility (such as a management center) that can communicate with the vehicle VH.

[0020] When the movement route acquisition unit 110 receives a registration start request from the driver, it acquires the movement route of the vehicle VH when the driver parks the vehicle VH in the parking lot through manual operation, and temporarily stores the acquired movement route in the RAM 13. Here, the movement route of the vehicle VH refers to the movement trajectory of the vehicle position that changes as the vehicle VH travels. The vehicle position is, for example, a predetermined geometric center position in a plan view of the vehicle VH. Note that the vehicle position may be another position of the vehicle VH (for example, the center position of the left and right front wheels, or the center position of the left and right rear wheels, etc.). The driver's registration start request may be acquired, for example, through operation of a touch-type switch image displayed on the display device 70, operation of a physical switch provided separately from the display device 70, or voice recognition by a sound collector.

[0021] When the movement route acquisition unit 110 receives a registration start request from the driver in a state where the vehicle VH is stopped near the entrance of the parking lot, it sets the position information of the vehicle VH at that time as the start position of the movement route. The position information of the vehicle VH may be acquired based on the detection result of the position information acquisition device 50. In addition, after setting the start position, the movement route acquisition unit 110 sets a two-dimensional map with the start position as the origin, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle VH as the X-axis, and the width direction of the vehicle VH as the Y-axis.

[0022] When the driver starts parking through manual operation from the start position, the movement route acquisition unit 110 plots the movement trajectory of the vehicle position on the two-dimensional map at every predetermined sampling period, thereby acquiring the movement route of the vehicle VH. The movement trajectory may be calculated, for example, by odometry based on detection results of the vehicle speed sensor 31 and the steering angle sensor 34, or may be estimated from the position information of the vehicle VH acquired by the position information acquisition device 50 or image data around the vehicle VH captured by the camera sensor 43. The predetermined sampling period may be either a predetermined distance or a predetermined time.

[0023] When the movement path acquisition unit 110 plots the movement trajectory of the vehicle position on a two-dimensional map, it acquires the vehicle speed, steering angle, brake operation amount, accelerator operation amount, shift position, etc., detected by the internal sensor device 30, and associates them with the vehicle position on the movement path. The movement path acquisition unit 110 terminates the acquisition of the movement path when the driver stops the vehicle VH at a predetermined position in the parking lot and switches the shift position to parking P. The movement path acquisition unit 110 sets the vehicle position at the time the acquisition of the movement path is terminated as the end position of the movement path.

[0024] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the movement path of a vehicle VH acquired by the movement path acquisition unit 110 when the vehicle is parked manually by the driver. Figure 3 shows an example of parallel parking in which the vehicle VH is parked in a parking space PA located to the right of the vehicle VH while reversing. The symbol S in Figure 3 represents, for example, the road facing the entrance EN of the parking space PA. Note that the process is substantially the same when the parking space PA is to the left of the vehicle VH, or when the vehicle VH is parked in the parking space PA while moving forward, or when the vehicle VH is parallel parked, so explanations for those cases are omitted.

[0025] The starting position P0 in Figure 3 is the vehicle position when the movement path acquisition unit 110 receives a registration start request from the driver. As shown in Figure 3, suppose the driver moves the vehicle VH forward by creeping or accelerating from the starting position P0 to the first switching position P1, which is away from the entrance EN of the parking lot PA, while turning left by steering left. Hereafter, the movement path of the vehicle VH from the starting position P0 to the first switching position P1 will be referred to as the first movement path R1. The first switching position P1 is, for example, a predetermined position on the road S that is to the right of the entrance EN when the road S is viewed from the parking lot PA side. The movement path acquisition unit 110 acquires the first movement path R1 by plotting the movement trajectory of the vehicle VH from the starting position P0 to the first switching position P1 on a two-dimensional map at predetermined sampling periods. Furthermore, while the vehicle VH is traveling along the first travel path R1, the movement path acquisition unit 110 acquires the vehicle speed, steering angle, brake operation amount, accelerator operation amount, shift position, etc. of the vehicle VH at predetermined sampling intervals, corresponding to the vehicle's position on the first travel path R1.

[0026] At the first shift position P1, the vehicle VH is tilted in the longitudinal direction relative to the longitudinal direction of the parking lot PA. In this case, in order to move the vehicle VH into the parking lot PA, the driver needs to reverse the vehicle VH while turning it to the right by steering it to the right, so that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle VH and the longitudinal direction of the parking lot PA are approximately parallel. When the driver switches the shift position from Drive D to Reverse R at the first shift position P1, the driver moves the vehicle VH in reverse while turning it to the right by steering it to the right.

[0027] Here, if the driver is unfamiliar with parking maneuvers, or if a pedestrian or other vehicle approaches the vehicle VH, the driver may turn the steering wheel to the right more than necessary for some reason. In this case, the rear end of the vehicle VH will not reach the entrance EN of the parking lot PA, but will reach position P2 to the right of the entrance EN. That is, the driver will need to stop the vehicle VH at position P2, switch the shift position from reverse R to drive D, and move the vehicle VH forward again to redo the parking maneuver. Hereafter, position P2 where the driver switches the shift position from reverse R to drive D will be referred to as the second switching position. The movement path of the vehicle VH from the first switching position P1 to the second switching position P2 will be referred to as the second movement path R2. The movement path acquisition unit 110 acquires the second movement path R2 by plotting the movement trajectory of the vehicle VH from the first switching position P1 to the second switching position P2 on a two-dimensional map at predetermined sampling periods. Furthermore, while the vehicle VH is traveling along the second travel path R2, the travel path acquisition unit 110 acquires the vehicle speed, steering angle, brake operation amount, accelerator operation amount, shift position, etc. of the vehicle VH at predetermined sampling intervals, corresponding to the vehicle's position on the second travel path R2.

[0028] When the driver switches the shift position at the second switching position P2, the driver moves the vehicle VH forward towards position P3, away from the entrance EN of the parking lot PA, so that the vehicle VH's longitudinal tilt relative to the longitudinal direction of the parking lot PA is reduced. Position P3 is closer to the entrance EN of the parking lot PA than the first switching position P1, and is the position where the driver last changes the direction of travel in order to bring the vehicle VH into the parking lot PA, that is, the position where the shift position is switched from drive D to reverse R. Hereinafter, position P3, where the driver last changes the shift position, will be referred to as the third switching position. The movement path of the vehicle VH from the second switching position P2 to the third switching position P3 will be referred to as the third movement path R3. The movement path acquisition unit 110 acquires the third movement path R3 by plotting the movement trajectory of the vehicle VH from the second switching position P2 to the third switching position P3 on a two-dimensional map at predetermined sampling periods. Furthermore, while the vehicle VH is traveling along the third travel path R3, the travel path acquisition unit 110 acquires the vehicle speed, steering angle, brake operation amount, accelerator operation amount, shift position, etc. of the vehicle VH at predetermined sampling intervals, corresponding to the vehicle's position on the third travel path R3.

[0029] When the driver switches the shift position at the third switching position P3, the vehicle VH enters the parking lot PA from the entrance EN and moves the vehicle VH in reverse so that it reaches a predetermined end position P4 within the parking lot PA. Specifically, the driver reverses the vehicle VH while steering it to the right so that the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle VH is approximately parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking lot PA, until the rear end of the vehicle VH reaches the vicinity of the entrance EN of the parking lot PA. When the vehicle VH enters the parking lot PA and reaches the end position P4, the driver stops the vehicle VH by braking and switches the shift position from reverse R to parking P. Hereinafter, the movement path of the vehicle VH from the third switching position P3 to the end position P4 will be referred to as the fourth movement path R4. The movement path acquisition unit 110 acquires the fourth movement path R4 by plotting the movement trajectory of the vehicle VH from the third switching position P3 to the end position P4 on a two-dimensional map at predetermined sampling periods. Furthermore, while the vehicle VH is traveling along the fourth travel path R4, the travel path acquisition unit 110 acquires the vehicle speed, steering angle, brake operation amount, accelerator operation amount, shift position, etc. of the vehicle VH at predetermined sampling intervals, corresponding to the vehicle's position on the fourth travel path R4.

[0030] Incidentally, in order to park vehicle VH in parking lot PA most efficiently by reversing, it is desirable to minimize the number of times the direction of travel of vehicle VH is changed, that is, the number of times the shift position is changed. In the example shown in Figure 3, the shift position is changed a total of three times, and when automatic parking control is performed based on the movement path acquired by the movement path acquisition unit 110, unnecessary paths such as the second movement path R2 and the second movement path R3 are reproduced.

[0031] The route optimization processing unit 120 determines whether the travel route acquired by the travel route acquisition unit 110 contains unnecessary routes that are not needed for parking the vehicle VH in the parking lot PA. If unnecessary routes are found, it performs an optimization process to optimize the travel route used for automatic parking control by deleting the unnecessary routes. Hereinafter, the optimized travel route will be referred to as the "optimal travel route".

[0032] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the route optimization process performed by the route optimization processing unit 120. In Figure 4(A), the solid lines R1 to R4 represent the actual route traveled by the vehicle VH through manual operation by the driver, and are the route R1 to R4 shown in Figure 3, acquired by the route acquisition unit 110. The area E enclosed by the dashed line in Figure 4(A) represents the area traveled by the vehicle VH along the route R1 to R4. Here, area E refers to the portion that overlaps with the outline (outer perimeter) of the vehicle VH in a plan view of the road S and parking lot PA.

[0033] The route optimization processing unit 120 extracts the region E when the driver manually operates the vehicle VH along the travel paths R1 to R4. Region E can be extracted, for example, from image data captured by the camera sensor 43 when the vehicle VH travels along the travel paths R1 to R4. The route optimization processing unit 120 sets the optimal travel path within the extracted region E. That is, instead of simply connecting the starting position P0 and the ending position P4 with the shortest path, the optimal travel path is set so that it fits within the region E that the vehicle VH actually traveled. This effectively prevents the optimal travel path from being set in an area that the driver intentionally avoided, such as when avoiding an obstacle.

[0034] The route optimization processing unit 120 determines the optimal travel path as the one that minimizes the number of changes in the direction of travel of the vehicle VH, i.e., the number of changes in the shift position, within the area E on which the vehicle VH actually traveled. In the example shown in Figure 4(A), the route optimization processing unit 120 first selects the third switching position P3, which is the starting point of the fourth travel path R4, from among the first or third switching positions P1 and P3 where the shift position is switched from drive D to reverse R, as the optimal switching position PB, since the third switching position P3 allows the vehicle VH to enter the parking lot PA and stop at the end position P4. In other words, the number of changes in the direction of travel of the optimal travel path is set to one, at the third switching position P3.

[0035] Next, the route optimization processing unit 120 extracts the optimal forward path that allows vehicle VH to reach the optimal switching position PB(P3) from the starting position P0 within region E in the shortest distance. In the example shown in Figure 4, the route optimization processing unit 120 extracts the path R1' from the starting position P0 of the first movement path R1 to the intersection X where it intersects with the fourth movement path R4, and the path R4' from the intersection X of the fourth movement path R4 to the optimal switching position PB(P3), as the optimal forward path RD. Here, path R4' is the path that vehicle VH actually traveled in reverse along the fourth movement path R4, and the shift position acquired by the movement path acquisition unit 110 is reverse R. For this reason, the route optimization processing unit 120 changes the shift position of path R4' from reverse R to drive D.

[0036] When the route optimization processing unit 120 extracts the optimal forward route RD, it extracts the route R4'' from the optimal switching position PB (P3) of the fourth movement route R4 to the end position P4 as the optimal reverse route RR. When the route optimization processing unit 120 extracts the optimal forward route RD and the optimal reverse route RR, it sets these routes RD and RR as the optimal movement routes to be used when parking the vehicle VH in the parking lot PA using automatic parking control.

[0037] Thus, if the movement path acquired by the movement path acquisition unit 110 includes multiple switching positions P1, P2, and P3, the route optimization processing unit 120 sets the third switching position P3 (the last switching position), which is the starting point of the fourth movement path R4 in which the vehicle VH is parked at the end position P4 in the parking lot PA, as the optimal switching position PB, and deletes the movement paths R2 and R3 that start from the other switching positions P1 and P2 as unnecessary paths. This effectively prevents unnecessary movement paths R2 and R3, which are not needed for parking the vehicle SV in the parking lot PA, from being reproduced during automatic parking control. In other words, it becomes possible to optimize the movement path for automatic parking control.

[0038] In the example shown in Figure 4(A), the third movement path R3 was deleted as an unnecessary path. However, as shown in Figure 4(B), if the first movement path R1 intersects with the third movement path R3 before the fourth movement path R4, a portion of the third movement path R3 will be used as the optimal forward path RD. Specifically, the intersection point X where the first movement path R1 and the third movement path R3 intersect is used as the reference point, and the path R1' from the starting position P0 of the first movement path R1 to the intersection point X, and the path R3' from the intersection point X of the third movement path R3 to the third switching position P3 are set as the optimal forward path RD. In other words, from the starting position P0 to the optimal switching position PB, which is the final switching position P3, the shortest distance movement path is extracted from the movement paths actually traveled by the vehicle VH during manual operation.

[0039] The Registered Parking Lot Storage Unit 130 stores the travel route acquired by the Travel Route Acquisition Unit 110 as the target travel route used for automatic parking control of the parking lot PA if the Route Optimization Processing Unit 120 determines that travel route optimization is unnecessary, i.e., if the optimization process is not performed. Furthermore, if the Route Optimization Processing Unit 120 performs travel route optimization, the Registered Parking Lot Storage Unit 130 stores the optimal travel route set by the Route Optimization Processing Unit 120 as the target travel route used for automatic parking control of the parking lot PA. The Registered Parking Lot Storage Unit 130 stores the target travel route linked to the location information and images of the parking lot PA. The location information of the parking lot PA can be acquired based on the detection results of the location information acquisition device 50. For images of the parking lot PA, for example, image data of the parking lot PA (e.g., near the entrance EN) captured by the camera sensor 43 while the vehicle VH is stopped at the starting position P0 can be stored. If there are multiple registered parking lots, the Registered Parking Lot Storage Unit 130 stores the target travel route and location information for each registered parking lot.

[0040] Based on the detection results of the location information acquisition device 50, the parking notification processing unit 140 executes a parking notification process to inform the occupants of the vehicle VH that a registered parking lot has been detected when the distance between the vehicle VH's current location and a previously registered parking lot falls below a predetermined distance. The notification to the occupants can be made, for example, by displaying it on the display device 70 or by sound from a speaker.

[0041] The automatic parking control unit 150 performs automatic parking control when the parking notification processing unit 140 performs parking notification processing and the automatic parking switch 60 is turned ON by the occupant of the vehicle VH, based on the target movement path stored in the registered parking memory unit 130. The automatic parking control is performed, for example, by feedback control of the operation of the drive unit 20, steering unit 21, brake unit 22, and transmission unit 23 based on the deviation between the target movement path and the actual movement trajectory of the vehicle VH. The actual movement trajectory of the vehicle VH may be calculated, for example, based on the detection results of the vehicle speed sensor 31 and the steering angle sensor 34, or it may be estimated by using the position information of the vehicle VH acquired by the position information acquisition device 50 in combination.

[0042] When the automatic parking switch 60 is turned ON, if there is a discrepancy between the vehicle position of vehicle VH and the starting position P0, the automatic parking control unit 150 issues a notification to the driver prompting them to move vehicle VH to the starting position P0. The notification to the driver may be made using either a display on the display device 70, an audio notification from the speaker 75, or both. When the position of vehicle VH approximately coincides with the starting position P0, the automatic parking control unit 150 starts automatic parking control to automatically drive vehicle VH along the target movement path read from the registered parking memory unit 130. While executing automatic parking control, the automatic parking control unit 150 monitors whether there are any objects that could potentially come into contact with vehicle VH based on the detection results of the external sensor device 40. If an object with a high probability of contact is detected, the automatic parking control unit 150 interrupts automatic parking control. When vehicle VH is stopped at the target position P4 and the shift position is switched to parking P, the automatic parking control unit 150 terminates automatic parking control.

[0043] Next, we will explain the routines for acquiring the travel path and optimizing the path executed by the CPU 11 of the ECU 10, based on the flowchart shown in Figure 5.

[0044] In step S100, the ECU 10 determines whether the driver has performed the registration start request operation. If the driver has performed the registration start request operation (Yes), the ECU 10 accepts the registration start request and proceeds to the process in step S110. On the other hand, if the driver has not performed the registration start request operation (No), the ECU 10 returns this routine.

[0045] In step S110, the ECU 10 sets the position of the vehicle VH at the time the registration start request was received to the starting position P0 where the acquisition of the movement path begins. Next, in step S120, the ECU 10 determines whether the driver has started parking the vehicle VH manually. Whether the driver has started parking can be determined, for example, by whether the vehicle VH has moved from the starting position P0. If the driver has started parking manually (Yes), the ECU 10 proceeds to the process in step S130. On the other hand, if the driver has not started parking manually (No), the ECU 10 returns this routine after a certain period of time has elapsed.

[0046] In step S130, the ECU 10 acquires the movement path of the vehicle VH as manually operated by the driver and temporarily stores it in RAM 13. In step S140, the ECU 10 determines whether the vehicle VH has reached the end position P4 within the parking lot PA. Whether the vehicle VH has reached the end position P4 can be determined by whether the vehicle VH has stopped and the shift position has been switched to parking P. If the vehicle VH has reached the end position P4 (Yes), the ECU 10 proceeds to the process in step S140. On the other hand, if the vehicle VH has not reached the end position P4 (No), the ECU 10 continues the process in step S130.

[0047] In step S150, the ECU 10 determines whether the travel path obtained in step S130 contains any unnecessary paths. If there are no unnecessary paths (No), the ECU 10 proceeds to step S170. On the other hand, if there are unnecessary paths (Yes), the ECU 10 proceeds to step S160.

[0048] In step S160, the ECU 10 performs optimization processing on the travel path acquired in step S130. After performing the optimization processing, the ECU 10 proceeds to the process in step S170.

[0049] In step S170, the ECU 10 registers the parking lot PA as an already registered parking lot and stores the target travel route linked to the location information of the parking lot PA. Specifically, if the ECU 10 proceeds to step S170 without going through the processing in step S160, that is, if the travel route does not contain any unnecessary paths, it stores the travel route obtained in step S130 as the target travel route to be used for automatic parking control of the already registered parking lot. On the other hand, if the ECU 10 proceeds to step S170 via the processing in step S160, that is, if the travel route contains unnecessary paths, it stores the optimal travel route calculated by the optimization process in step S160 as the target travel route to be used for automatic parking control of the already registered parking lot. After that, the ECU 10 returns from this routine.

[0050] Next, we will explain the automatic parking control routine executed by the CPU 11 of the ECU 10, based on the flowchart shown in Figure 6.

[0051] In step S200, the ECU10 determines whether the distance between the current location of vehicle VH and the registered parking space is less than or equal to a predetermined distance. If it is less than or equal to the predetermined distance (Yes), the ECU10 proceeds to the process in step S210. On the other hand, if it is not less than or equal to the predetermined distance (No), the ECU10 returns to this routine.

[0052] In step S210, the ECU 10 performs a parking notification process to inform the occupant of vehicle VH that a registered parking space has been detected. Next, in step S220, the ECU 10 determines whether the automatic parking switch 60 has been turned ON by the occupant of vehicle VH. If the automatic parking switch 60 has been turned ON, the ECU 10 proceeds to the process in step S230. On the other hand, if the automatic parking switch 60 has not been turned ON (No), the ECU 10 returns to this routine after a certain period of time has elapsed.

[0053] In step S230, the ECU 10 performs automatic parking control to automatically park the vehicle VH in a previously registered parking lot PA based on the target travel path registered in advance, according to the flow in Figure 5. In other words, if the optimization process is not performed, automatic parking control is performed based on the travel path acquired during manual operation by the driver, and if the optimization process is performed, automatic parking control is performed based on the optimal travel path calculated by the optimization process.

[0054] Next, in step S240, the ECU 10 determines whether the vehicle VH has reached the end position P4. If the vehicle VH has not reached the end position P4 (No), the ECU 10 continues the automatic parking control in step S230. On the other hand, if the vehicle VH has reached the end position P4 (Yes), the ECU 10 terminates the automatic parking control and then returns to this routine.

[0055] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible as long as they do not depart from the purpose of the present invention.

[0056] For example, in the above embodiment, the movement path acquisition unit 110 was described as acquiring the movement path when the driver parks the vehicle VH manually, but it is also possible to configure it to acquire the movement path of the vehicle VH during automatic parking control and to sequentially optimize the movement path for automatic parking control. Furthermore, although the path optimization processing unit 120 was described as deleting unnecessary paths, it is also possible to configure it to save these unnecessary paths and update the optimal movement path in accordance with changes around the parking lot, etc. Moreover, this disclosure can also be applied to autonomous vehicles that perform some or all of the driving operations automatically.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device capable of performing automatic parking control for automatically parking a vehicle in a parking lot and / or automatic exit control for automatically exiting the vehicle from the parking lot, A movement path acquisition unit acquires in advance the movement path of the vehicle when parking in or departing from the parking lot, before executing the automatic parking control or the automatic exit control. When the movement path acquisition unit acquires a parking movement path, which is the movement path of the vehicle when it is parked, and the parking movement path includes a plurality of switching positions where the direction of travel of the vehicle is changed, the optimization processing unit performs an optimization process that sets the last switching position, which is the starting point of the movement path where the vehicle enters the parking lot and stops at a predetermined end position within the parking lot, as the optimal switching position, and sets the shortest movement path from the starting position of the parking movement path through the parking movement path to the optimal switching position, and the movement path from the optimal switching position to the end position, within the area where the vehicle actually traveled when the movement path was acquired, as the optimal movement path. The system includes an automatic control unit which, if the optimization processing unit does not perform the optimization process, executes the automatic parking control or the automatic exit control based on the movement path acquired by the movement path acquisition unit, and if the optimization processing unit performs the optimization process, executes the automatic parking control or the automatic exit control based on the optimal movement path. Control device.

2. A vehicle equipped with the control device described in claim 1.

3. A vehicle control method capable of performing automatic parking control for automatically parking a vehicle in a parking lot and / or automatic exit control for automatically exiting the vehicle from the parking lot, A movement path acquisition step is performed to acquire in advance the movement path of the vehicle when parking the vehicle in the parking lot or departing the parking lot, before executing the automatic parking control or the automatic exit control. When a parking movement path, which is the movement path of the vehicle when it is parked, is obtained in the movement path acquisition step, and the parking movement path includes a plurality of switching positions where the direction of travel of the vehicle is changed, the optimization processing step is to set the last switching position, which is the starting point of the movement path where the vehicle enters the parking lot and stops at a predetermined end position within the parking lot, as the optimal switching position, and to set the shortest movement path from the starting position of the parking movement path through the parking movement path to the optimal switching position, and the movement path from the optimal switching position to the end position, within the area where the vehicle actually traveled when the movement path was acquired, as the optimal movement path. If the optimization process is not performed, the computer is instructed to perform an automatic control step in which it executes the automatic parking control or the automatic exit control based on the movement path acquired in the movement path acquisition step, and if the optimization process is performed, it executes the automatic parking control or the automatic exit control based on the optimized movement path. Control method.

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