Parking assistance method and parking assistance device

Abstract

A parking assistance method and a parking assistance device according to the present invention calculate a travel route from a current position of a vehicle to a target parking position, and control a parking operation of the vehicle on the basis of the travel route. At this time, one or more parking position candidates around the vehicle are extracted. When backward movement is selected with a select lever in a state in which the vehicle is stopped, at least one parking position candidate located behind the vehicle among the parking position candidates is extracted as a target parking position candidate and presented to the user. Then, one of the target parking position candidates is set as the target parking position on the basis of input of an instruction of the user via an operation unit.

Description

Parking assistance method and parking assistance device

[0001] The present invention relates to a parking assistance method and a parking assistance device.

[0002] A technology has been proposed that displays a surrounding image so that part or all of the range of the target parking position, where the vehicle is to be parked by automatic parking control, is preferentially displayed in a specified image display area on the display based on the relative position of the target parking position with respect to the vehicle (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-062736

[0004] According to the technology described in Patent Document 1, the target parking position presented to the user is not necessarily the parking position desired by the user. Therefore, if the target parking position presented to the user is not the parking position desired by the user, the user needs to operate the button corresponding to the parking position until the desired target parking position is displayed, which may make the user's operation complicated.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a parking assistance method and a parking assistance device that can simplify user operations by presenting a parking position that is likely to be desired by the user as a target parking position.

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned problems, a parking assistance method and a parking assistance device according to one aspect of the present invention calculate a movement path from the current position of the vehicle to a target parking position and control the parking operation of the vehicle based on the movement path. In this process, one or more candidate parking positions around the vehicle are extracted, and when reverse is selected with the selector lever while the vehicle is stopped, at least one candidate parking position located behind the vehicle is extracted as a target parking position candidate and presented to the user. Then, one of the candidate target parking positions is set as the target parking position based on a user's instruction input from an operation unit.

[0007] According to the present invention, a parking position that is likely to be desired by the user can be presented as a target parking position, thereby simplifying the user's operation.

[0008] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a parking assistance device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing of the parking assistance device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0010] [Configuration of Parking Assistance Device] An example of the configuration of a parking assistance device will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a parking assistance device according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the parking assistance device includes a selector lever 71 of a vehicle (not shown), an operation unit 73, a presentation unit 75, and a controller 100. In addition, the parking assistance device may include a sensor unit 77 and a vehicle control device 400.

[0011] The parking assistance device may be installed in a vehicle with an automatic driving function, or in a vehicle without an automatic driving function. The parking assistance device may also be installed in a vehicle that is capable of switching between automatic driving and manual driving. The automatic driving function may also be a driving assistance function that automatically controls only some of the vehicle control functions, such as steering control, braking force control, and driving force control, to assist the driver in driving. In this embodiment, the parking assistance device will be described as being installed in a vehicle with an automatic driving function.

[0012] Although not shown in Fig. 1, the parking assistance device may control various actuators provided in the vehicle, such as a steering actuator, an accelerator pedal actuator, a brake actuator, etc. This can realize highly accurate automatic driving.

[0013] The selector lever 71 is a lever that selects at least forward or reverse of the vehicle. More specifically, it is a lever that is operated by the driver (user) of the vehicle to select one of a plurality of predetermined ranges. Ranges that can be selected by the selector lever 71 include, for example, a drive range (D), a brake range (B), a reverse range (R), a neutral range (N), and a parking range (P).

[0014] The drive range (D) and the brake range (B) are ranges used when moving the vehicle forward. For example, during manual driving, the brake range (B) is a range in which a stronger braking force is generated than in the drive range (D) when the accelerator is released.

[0015] The reverse range (R) is used when moving the vehicle backward.

[0016] The operation unit 73 receives user operations corresponding to various instructions from the user to the parking assistance device, and transmits information specifying the various instructions to a controller 100, which will be described later. Note that the operation unit 73 is different from the selector lever 71. For example, the operation unit 73 may be an input interface having a plurality of buttons, or may be a touch panel having a touch interface.

[0017] More specifically, icons represented by pictures or symbols may be displayed on the screen so that the user can operate them, and the operation unit 73 may accept user operations by the user touching, dragging, etc. the displayed icons.

[0018] In particular, the operation unit 73 accepts a user operation to specify at least one target parking position from among the target parking position candidates presented by the presentation unit 75 (described later). The operation unit 73 may also accept an instruction from the user to start a parking operation. Additionally, the operation unit 73 may also accept an instruction from the user to switch the target parking position candidates.

[0019] The presentation unit 75 presents various information received from the controller 100 (described later) to the user of the parking assistance device. In particular, the presentation unit 75 presents target parking position candidates. In addition, the presentation unit 75 may present to the user of the parking assistance device candidate travel routes for the vehicle to travel to the target parking position candidates.

[0020] For example, the presentation unit 75 is a display that displays graphics and characters by combining a plurality of display pixels. The presentation unit 75 may also be a head-up display device, a head-mounted display, smart glasses, or a prompter.

[0021] The presenting unit 75 is not limited to presenting various types of information visually, but may also present information to the user through auditory information, or may generate vibrations to present information to the user through vibration stimulation.

[0022] The sensor unit 77 detects the environment around the vehicle. For example, the sensor unit 77 may be a digital camera equipped with a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS that captures an image of the area around the vehicle. The digital camera captures an image of the area around the vehicle and acquires a digital image of the surrounding area. The digital camera captures an image of a predetermined range around the vehicle by setting the focal length, the lens angle of view, the vertical and horizontal angles of the camera, and the like.

[0023] Note that images captured by the digital camera are output to the controller 100 and stored in a storage unit (not shown) for a predetermined period of time. For example, the digital camera captures images at predetermined time intervals, and the captured images are stored in the storage unit as past images. The past images may be deleted after a predetermined period of time has passed since the capture of the past images.

[0024] The sensor unit 77 may also be an object detection sensor mounted on the vehicle, such as a laser radar, a millimeter wave radar, or a camera, that detects objects present around the vehicle. The sensor unit 77 may include a plurality of different types of object detection sensors.

[0025] For example, the sensor unit 77 may detect moving objects including other vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians, and stationary objects including parked vehicles, and detect the positions, attitudes, sizes, speeds, accelerations, decelerations, yaw rates, etc. of the moving and stationary objects relative to the vehicle. The sensor unit 77 may output, as a detection result, the behavior of two-dimensional objects in a zenith view (also called a plan view) viewed from the air above the vehicle. The sensor unit 77 may also detect signs (road signs and signs marked on the road surface), guide rails, etc., present around the vehicle.

[0026] Furthermore, the sensor unit 77 detects the state of the vehicle in addition to the environment around the vehicle. For example, the sensor unit 77 may detect the vehicle's moving speed (moving speed in the forward / backward direction, left / right direction, and turning speed), the steering angle of the wheels provided on the vehicle, and the rate of change of the steering angle.

[0027] Additionally, the sensor unit 77 may include a sensor that measures the absolute position of the vehicle, i.e., the position, attitude, and speed of the vehicle relative to a predetermined reference point, using a position detection sensor that measures the absolute position of the vehicle, such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) or odometry.

[0028] The vehicle control device 400 controls the vehicle based on the results obtained by the controller 100. For example, the vehicle control device 400 may be configured to automatically drive the vehicle by controlling the accelerator opening and braking force of the brake device of the vehicle and the steering angle of the steering wheel according to a predetermined driving route, thereby automatically controlling acceleration / deceleration and the steering angle of the steered wheels. Alternatively, the vehicle control device 400 may assist the driving operation of the vehicle occupant by controlling at least a portion of the acceleration / deceleration, the steering angle of the steered wheels, and the steering force of the steering wheel by controlling the accelerator opening, braking force of the brake device, or a portion of the steering angle or steering reaction force of the steering wheel. Furthermore, the vehicle control device 400 may assist the driver in driving along the predetermined driving route by displaying the predetermined driving route on a display device or the like.

[0029] The controller 100 (an example of a control unit or processing unit) is a general-purpose computer equipped with a CPU (central processing unit), memory, and input / output units. A computer program (parking assistance program) for functioning as part of the parking assistance device is installed in the controller 100. By executing the computer program, the controller 100 functions as multiple information processing circuits (110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120) equipped in the parking assistance device.

[0030] Here, an example is shown in which the multiple information processing circuits (110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120) provided in the parking assistance device are realized by software. However, it is also possible to configure the information processing circuits (110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120) by preparing dedicated hardware for executing each of the information processes described below. Also, the multiple information processing circuits (110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120) may be configured by individual hardware. Furthermore, the information processing circuits (110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120) may also be used as electronic control units (ECUs) used for other control related to the host vehicle.

[0031] The controller 100 includes a candidate extraction unit 110, a relative position calculation unit 112, a distance calculation unit 114, a driving path calculation unit 116, a display setting unit 118, and a parking position setting unit 120 as multiple information processing circuits (110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120).

[0032] The candidate extraction unit 110 extracts one or more parking position candidates around the vehicle based on information from the sensor unit 77. For example, the candidate extraction unit 110 detects parking spaces around the vehicle in a parking lot where the vehicle can be parked. The candidate extraction unit 110 may detect other vehicles, obstacles, parking spaces, etc. from images captured by the sensor unit 77, which is a camera, by image processing, and detect available parking spaces.

[0033] The relative position calculation unit 112 calculates the relative position of the parking position candidate extracted by the candidate extraction unit 110 relative to the vehicle. More specifically, the relative position calculation unit 112 acquires the coordinates of the parking position candidate in the stationary frame of the vehicle.

[0034] In addition, if the parking position candidate extracted by the candidate extraction unit 110 is a parking position where the vehicle has been parked in the past (a stored parking position), the relative position may be calculated based on information when the vehicle was parked at the stored parking position.

[0035] For example, the relative position calculation unit 112 may acquire first relative position information indicating the positional relationship between the vehicle and objects around the parking position (stored parking position) when the vehicle is parked at the parking position (stored parking position). The acquired first relative position information is stored in a storage unit (not shown).

[0036] When the vehicle approaches the stored parking position again after a period of time has elapsed since the transmission from the stored parking position, the relative position calculation unit 112 may acquire second relative position information indicating the positional relationship between the vehicle and objects around the vehicle. In this case, the relative position calculation unit 112 may compare the first relative position information with the second relative position information to calculate the relative position of the vehicle with respect to the parking position candidate.

[0037] When comparing the first relative position information with the second relative position information, the relative position of the vehicle and the relative position of the stored parking position can be determined using the targets around the vehicle as references. Therefore, by calculating the difference between the two relative positions, the relative position calculation unit 112 can obtain the coordinates of the parking position candidate in the vehicle's stationary frame.

[0038] The distance calculation unit 114 calculates the distance from the vehicle to the parking position candidate extracted by the candidate extraction unit 110. The distance calculation unit 114 calculates the distance between the parking position candidate and the vehicle for each parking position candidate. The distance calculation unit 114 may calculate the distance between the parking position candidate and the vehicle based on the relative position calculated by the relative position calculation unit 112.

[0039] The travel route calculation unit 116 calculates a travel plan (travel route candidates) for the vehicle until the vehicle is parked at the parking position candidate extracted by the candidate extraction unit 110. That is, the travel route calculation unit 116 calculates travel route candidates from the current position of the vehicle to the parking position candidate. The travel route calculation unit 116 calculates the travel route candidates for the vehicle for each parking position candidate.

[0040] The travel route calculation unit 116 may calculate a travel distance of the vehicle when the vehicle is moved according to the calculated travel route candidate. The calculated travel route candidate may be presented to the user via the presentation unit 75.

[0041] Additionally, when moving the vehicle according to the calculated travel route candidate, the travel route calculation unit 116 may determine whether the vehicle can move to the parking position candidate by only backing up.

[0042] The display setting unit 118 extracts at least one of the parking position candidates as a target parking position candidate based on the user's operation of the selector lever 71 or the operation unit 73. The extracted target parking position candidate is presented to the user via the presentation unit 75.

[0043] When the vehicle is stopped and reverse is selected with the selector lever 71 (when the selector lever 71 is changed to the reverse range), the display setting unit 118 extracts at least one parking position candidate located behind the vehicle from among the parking position candidates as a target parking position candidate. Note that "behind the vehicle" refers to the direction in which the vehicle is reversing. For example, "behind the vehicle" may be the range captured by a rear camera attached to the rear of the vehicle.

[0044] Furthermore, when a position other than reverse is selected by the selector lever 71 (when the selector lever 71 is not in the reverse range) after receiving the start command, the display setting unit 118 may extract at least one parking position candidate located to the side of the vehicle from among the parking position candidates as a target parking position candidate. Note that "to the side of the vehicle" refers to an area facing the side of the vehicle other than in the direction in which the vehicle is moving forward or backward. For example, "to the side of the vehicle" may be an area captured by a side camera attached to the side of the vehicle.

[0045] Furthermore, when reverse is selected by the selector lever 71 while the vehicle is stopped (when the selector lever 71 is changed to the reverse range), the display setting unit 118 may extract, as a target parking position candidate, one parking position candidate that is located behind the vehicle and that can be reached from the current position of the vehicle by only reverse.

[0046] The display setting unit 118 may extract, as a target parking position candidate, one of the parking position candidates that is located behind the vehicle and closest to the vehicle when reverse is selected by the select lever 71 while the vehicle is stopped (when the select lever 71 is changed to the reverse range).

[0047] In addition, each time the display setting unit 118 receives a switching instruction, it may extract one parking position candidate selected from the parking position candidates in order of the parking position candidate that is located behind the vehicle and has the shortest distance to the vehicle, as a target parking position candidate.

[0048] Furthermore, when reverse is selected by the selector lever 71 while the vehicle is stopped (when the selector lever 71 is changed to the reverse range), the display setting unit 118 may extract, as a target parking position candidate, one of the parking position candidates that is located behind the vehicle and has the shortest travel distance from the current position of the vehicle.

[0049] Furthermore, the display setting unit 118 may extract, as a target parking position candidate, one parking position candidate selected from the parking position candidates in ascending order of the moving distance from the current position of the vehicle each time a switching instruction is received. Note that, each time a target parking position candidate is extracted by the display setting unit 118, the presentation unit 75 may present the target parking position candidate to the user.

[0050] The parking position setting unit 120 sets one of the target parking position candidates as the target parking position based on the user's instruction (operation) input from the operation unit 73. Specifically, the parking position setting unit 120 sets the target parking position candidate selected by the user from the target parking position candidates presented to the user via the presentation unit 75 as the target parking position.

[0051] Alternatively, the parking position setting unit 120 may transmit a movement route from the current position of the vehicle to the target parking position to the vehicle control device 400. The vehicle control device 400 may control the parking operation of the vehicle based on the transmitted movement route. In this way, the vehicle is parked at the set target parking position.

[0052] [Processing Procedure of Parking Assistance Apparatus] Next, the processing procedure of the parking assistance apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing of the parking assistance apparatus according to this embodiment. The processing of the parking assistance apparatus shown in Fig. 2 may be repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle.

[0053] In step S101, the candidate extraction unit 110 extracts one or more parking position candidates around the vehicle based on information from the sensor unit 77.

[0054] In step S103, the relative positions of the parking position candidates extracted by the candidate extraction unit 110 with respect to the vehicle are calculated. For example, the relative position calculation unit 112 calculates the relative positions of the parking position candidates with respect to the vehicle. Furthermore, the distance calculation unit 114 may calculate the distance from the vehicle to the parking position candidates extracted by the candidate extraction unit 110. Furthermore, the travel route calculation unit 116 may calculate a travel plan (travel route candidates) for the vehicle to park the vehicle at the parking position candidates extracted by the candidate extraction unit 110.

[0055] In step S105 , the display setting unit 118 acquires the user's operation content from the select lever 71 and the operation unit 73 .

[0056] In step S107, the display setting unit 118 determines whether or not reverse has been selected by the select lever 71 while the vehicle is stopped (whether or not the select lever 71 has been changed to the reverse range).

[0057] If reverse is selected (YES in step S107), in step S109, the display setting unit 118 extracts at least one parking position candidate located behind the vehicle from among the parking position candidates as a target parking position candidate.

[0058] If reverse is not selected (NO in step S107), in step S113, the display setting unit 118 determines whether or not a start instruction has been received.

[0059] If a start instruction is received (YES in step S113), in step S115, the display setting unit 118 extracts at least one parking position candidate located to the side of the vehicle from among the parking position candidates as a target parking position candidate.

[0060] If the start instruction has not been received (NO in step S113), the flow chart of FIG. 2 then ends.

[0061] After the target parking position candidates are extracted in steps S109 and S115, the presentation unit 75 presents the extracted target parking position candidates to the user in step S111.

[0062] In step S117, the display setting unit 118 determines whether or not a switching instruction has been received.

[0063] If a switching instruction has been received (YES in step S117), the process returns to step S107.

[0064] If a switching instruction has not been received (NO in step S117), in step S119, the parking position setting unit 120 sets one of the target parking position candidates as the target parking position based on the user's operation on the operation unit 73. Then, the flowchart in FIG. 2 ends.

[0065] [Effects of the Embodiment] As described above in detail, the parking assistance method and parking assistance device according to this embodiment calculate a movement path from the current position of the vehicle to a target parking position and control the parking operation of the vehicle based on the movement path. In this process, one or more candidate parking positions around the vehicle are extracted, and when reverse is selected with the selector lever while the vehicle is stopped, at least one candidate parking position located behind the vehicle is extracted as a target parking position candidate and presented to the user. Then, one of the candidate target parking positions is set as the target parking position based on a user's instruction input from the operation unit.

[0066] This allows the system to present a parking position that is likely to be desired by the user as the target parking position, simplifying the user's operation. In particular, only parking position candidates located behind the vehicle among the extracted parking position candidates are presented to the user as target parking position candidates, preventing excessive information from being presented to the user. The user only needs to set the target parking position from limited options, simplifying the user's operation. This also improves user convenience.

[0067] Furthermore, because the selector lever has already been shifted to the reverse range, there is no need to shift the selector lever again when starting to park the vehicle at the target parking position behind the vehicle, which reduces the number of range changes and reduces wear on mechanical parts.

[0068] In addition, the parking assistance method and parking assistance device according to this embodiment may receive a user instruction to start a parking operation from an operation unit, and when a mode other than reverse is selected with the selector lever after the start instruction has been received, extract at least one parking position candidate located to the side of the vehicle from among the parking position candidates as a target parking position candidate and present it via the presentation unit.

[0069] This allows the user to select a parking position that is likely to be desired by the user as the target parking position, simplifying the user's operation. In particular, only the parking position candidates located to the side of the vehicle among the extracted parking position candidates are presented to the user as the target parking position candidates, preventing excessive information from being presented to the user. The user only needs to set the target parking position from limited options, simplifying the user's operation.

[0070] Furthermore, the parking assistance method and parking assistance device according to this embodiment may be configured to, when the vehicle is stopped and reverse is selected using the selector lever, extract one of the parking position candidates that is located behind the vehicle and can be reached from the current position of the vehicle by only reverse, as a target parking position candidate and present the selected parking position candidate via the presentation unit. This prevents excessive information from being presented to the user. The user only needs to set the target parking position from limited options, which simplifies the user's operation.

[0071] Furthermore, the parking assistance method and parking assistance device according to this embodiment may be configured to, when the vehicle is stopped and reverse is selected using the selector lever, extract one of the parking position candidates that is located behind and closest to the vehicle as a target parking position candidate and present it via the presentation unit. This allows the user to simply check whether or not a parking operation is to be performed at the presented target parking position candidate, eliminating the need to select a target parking position candidate from multiple parking position candidates. As a result, the user's operation can be simplified.

[0072] Furthermore, the parking assistance method and parking assistance device according to this embodiment may receive a command from the user to switch the target parking position candidate, and each time a command is received, one parking position candidate selected from the parking position candidates in order of the rear of the vehicle and the shortest distance to the vehicle is extracted as the target parking position candidate and presented via the presentation unit. This allows the user to check only whether or not a parking operation is to be performed at the presented target parking position candidate, and eliminates the need to select a target parking position candidate from multiple parking position candidates. As a result, the user's operation can be simplified.

[0073] Furthermore, the parking assistance method and parking assistance device according to this embodiment may be configured to, when reverse is selected with the selector lever while the vehicle is stopped, extract one of the parking position candidates that is located behind the vehicle and has the shortest travel distance from the vehicle's current position as a target parking position candidate and present it via the presentation unit. This allows the user to simply check whether or not a parking operation is to be performed at the presented target parking position candidate, eliminating the need to select a target parking position candidate from multiple parking position candidates. As a result, user operation can be simplified. In particular, since a target parking position with a short travel distance is set, the time required for parking can be reduced. This also improves user convenience.

[0074] Furthermore, the parking assistance method and parking assistance device according to this embodiment may receive a user instruction to switch the target parking position candidate, and each time the switching instruction is received, one parking position candidate selected from the parking position candidates in ascending order of travel distance from the current position of the vehicle is extracted as the target parking position candidate and presented via the presentation unit. This allows the user to check only whether or not a parking operation is to be performed at the presented target parking position candidate, and eliminates the need to select a target parking position candidate from multiple parking position candidates. As a result, the user's operation can be simplified. In particular, since parking position candidates are presented in descending order of travel distance, the user's operation can be simplified. Furthermore, the time required for parking can be reduced. This improves user convenience.

[0075] Furthermore, the parking assistance method and parking assistance device according to this embodiment may acquire, for each parking position candidate where the vehicle has previously parked, first relative position information indicating the positional relationship between the vehicle and objects around the parking position candidate. Then, second relative position information indicating the positional relationship between the vehicle and objects around the vehicle may be acquired, and the first relative position information and the second relative position information may be compared to calculate the relative position of the vehicle with respect to the parking position candidate. This allows the vehicle's relative position with respect to the parking position candidate to be calculated based on the objects around the vehicle, even if a sign such as a white line indicating a parking space corresponding to the extracted parking position cannot be recognized. As a result, the accuracy of the vehicle's parking operation can be improved. Furthermore, the parking operation can be realized in a manner that is less affected by changes in the environment around the vehicle (e.g., rain, snow, etc.).

[0076] Furthermore, the parking assistance method and parking assistance device according to this embodiment may calculate candidate routes from the current vehicle position to each candidate target parking position and present the candidate routes to the user. This allows the user to check the candidate routes to be implemented for each candidate target parking position. Furthermore, the user can set a target parking position while referring to the presented candidate routes. This allows the user's preferences to be reflected in the parking operation of the vehicle.

[0077] Each of the functions described in the above embodiments may be implemented by one or more processing circuits, including programmed processors, electrical circuits, and even devices such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or circuit components arranged to perform the described functions.

[0078] Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to these descriptions and that various modifications and improvements are possible. The descriptions and drawings that form part of this disclosure should not be understood as limiting the present invention. Various alternative embodiments, examples, and operating techniques will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

[0079] The present invention naturally includes various embodiments not described herein. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention-specifying matters according to the scope of the claims that are appropriate from the above description.

[0080] 71 Select lever 73 Operation unit 75 Presentation unit 77 Sensor unit 100 Controller 110 Candidate extraction unit 112 Relative position calculation unit 114 Distance calculation unit 116 Travel route calculation unit 118 Display setting unit 120 Parking position setting unit 400 Vehicle control device

Claims

1. A parking assistance method for a controller that calculates a movement path from a current position of a vehicle to a target parking position and controls a parking operation of the vehicle based on the movement path, comprising: The vehicle includes at least a select lever for selecting forward or reverse, an operation unit for inputting a user's instruction, and a presentation unit for presenting a target parking position candidate, The controller: Extracting one or more candidate parking positions around the vehicle; When reverse is selected by the select lever with the vehicle stopped, at least one parking position candidate located behind the vehicle is extracted as the target parking position candidate from among the parking position candidates and presented via the presentation unit; Setting one of the target parking position candidates as the target parking position based on an instruction input by a user from the operation unit. A parking assistance method comprising:

2. 2. The parking assistance method according to claim 1, The controller: receiving an instruction from the user to start the parking operation through the operation unit; When a direction other than reverse is selected by the select lever in a state where the start instruction is received, at least one parking position candidate located on the side of the vehicle is extracted as the target parking position candidate from among the parking position candidates and is presented via the presentation unit. A parking assistance method comprising:

3. 3. The parking assistance method according to claim 1, further comprising: The controller: When reverse is selected by the select lever with the vehicle stopped, one parking position candidate located behind the vehicle and accessible from the current position of the vehicle only by reverse is extracted as the target parking position candidate from among the parking position candidates and is presented via the presentation unit. A parking assistance method comprising:

4. A parking assistance method according to claim 1 or 2, The controller: When reverse is selected by the select lever while the vehicle is stopped, one of the parking position candidates that is located behind the vehicle and closest to the vehicle is extracted as the target parking position candidate and is presented via the presentation unit. A parking assistance method comprising:

5. A parking assistance method according to claim 1 or 2, The controller: receiving an instruction to switch the target parking position candidate from the user via the operation unit; Each time the switching instruction is received, one parking position candidate selected from the parking position candidates located behind the vehicle and in ascending order of distance to the vehicle is extracted as the target parking position candidate and is presented via the presentation unit. A parking assistance method comprising:

6. A parking assistance method according to claim 1 or 2, The controller: When reverse is selected by the select lever while the vehicle is stopped, one of the parking position candidates that is located behind the vehicle and has the shortest moving distance from the current position of the vehicle is extracted as the target parking position candidate and is presented via the presentation unit. A parking assistance method comprising:

7. A parking assistance method according to claim 1 or 2, The controller: receiving an instruction to switch the target parking position candidate from the user via the operation unit; Each time the switching instruction is received, one parking position candidate selected from the parking position candidates in ascending order of moving distance from the current position of the vehicle is extracted as the target parking position candidate and presented via the presentation unit. A parking assistance method comprising:

8. A parking assistance method according to claim 1 or 2, The controller: Acquire first relative position information indicating a positional relationship between a target object around the parking position candidate and the vehicle for each of the parking position candidates in which the vehicle has been parked in the past; acquiring second relative position information indicating a positional relationship between a target around the vehicle and the vehicle; The first relative position information and the second relative position information are collated to calculate a relative position of the vehicle with respect to the parking position candidate. A parking assistance method comprising:

9. A parking assistance method according to claim 1 or 2, The controller: Calculating a movement route candidate from a current position of the vehicle to the target parking position candidate for each of the target parking position candidates; presenting the travel route candidates to the user via the presentation unit; A parking assistance method comprising:

10. A parking assistance device having a controller that calculates a movement path from a current position of a vehicle to a target parking position and controls a parking operation of the vehicle based on the movement path, The vehicle includes at least a select lever for selecting forward or reverse, an operation unit for inputting a user's instruction, and a presentation unit for presenting a target parking position candidate, The controller: Extracting one or more candidate parking positions around the vehicle; When reverse is selected by the select lever with the vehicle stopped, at least one parking position candidate located behind the vehicle is extracted as the target parking position candidate from among the parking position candidates and presented via the presentation unit; Setting one of the target parking position candidates as the target parking position based on an instruction input by a user from the operation unit. A parking assistance device comprising: