Control device and parking lot determination method

Abstract

A control device (100) comprises: a parking-possible position acquisition unit (10) that acquires, as a parking-possible position, a parking vehicle (PV) or a parking frame (PF) which is included in an image captured of an area ahead of a vehicle (500); and a parking space determination unit (20) that determines, as a parking space (PS), a range which includes a quadrangle surrounding a plurality of parking-possible positions that are contiguous in a first direction from a starting point, which is one parking-possible position, and a plurality of parking-possible positions that are contiguous in a second direction, which intersects the first direction, from the starting point.

Description

Control device and parking lot determination method CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Application No. 2023-101386 filed on June 21, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a control device and a parking lot determination method.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a parking lot determination method that extracts marking lines marked on the road surface from an image captured by a camera and determines the left-right similarity of a group of lines consisting of multiple marking lines detected on both the left and right sides of the vehicle, thereby determining whether the vehicle is in a parking lot.

[0004] JP 2015-64795 A

[0005] When a parked vehicle is present in front of the vehicle, some of the marking lines of parking spaces and other marks located further forward than the parked vehicle are hidden by the parked vehicle and cannot be recognized, which may result in a false determination that the vehicle is not in the parking lot even when it is actually in the parking lot. Therefore, there is a need for technology that can improve the accuracy of determining whether a vehicle is in a parking lot.

[0006] The present disclosure can be realized in the following forms.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a control device including: a parking position acquisition unit that acquires, as parking positions, parked vehicles or parking spaces included in an image captured in front of a vehicle, and a parking space determination unit that determines, as a parking space, an area including a rectangle that, with one of the parking positions as a starting point, surrounds a plurality of the parking positions that are successive from the starting point in a first direction and a plurality of the parking positions that are successive from the starting point in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

[0008] According to this embodiment, the accuracy of determining whether a vehicle is in a parking lot can be improved compared to when determining whether a vehicle is in a parking lot using only parked vehicles or parking spaces included in an image taken in front of the vehicle.

[0009] The present disclosure can be realized in various forms, such as a parking lot determination method, a computer program, a recording medium, a vehicle, and the like, in addition to the form of the control device described above.

[0010] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control device in a first embodiment, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a parked vehicle and a parking space located in front of a vehicle, Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a parking lot interior determination process executed by the control device, Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a parking space, Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a parking space, Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example where parking spaces exist on both the left and right sides of a vehicle, Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a turning back parking condition, Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a turning back parking condition, Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a parking lot interior determination process when parking spaces exist on both the left and right sides of a vehicle, Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control device in a second embodiment, Fig. 11 is a flowchart of a driving force suppression process executed by the control device, and Fig. 12 is a diagram of a parking space in another embodiment.

[0011] A. First Embodiment: The control device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a vehicle 500. In this embodiment, the control device 100 determines whether the vehicle 500 is present in a parking lot. The vehicle 500 may be any of a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), an electric vehicle (BEV), and an engine vehicle. The control device 100 is connected to be able to communicate with a camera 201, a radar 202, and a driving condition sensor 203 mounted on the vehicle 500.

[0012] The camera 201 captures an image of the area ahead of the vehicle 500. The image may be a still image or a video image. The camera 201 transmits the captured image to the control device 100.

[0013] The radar 202 detects the distance, angle, relative speed, etc. of the object in front of the vehicle 500 by emitting radio waves ahead of the vehicle 500 and receiving the reflected waves reflected by the object in front of the vehicle 500. The radar 202 transmits the detected distance, angle, etc. to the control device 100. The camera 201 and the radar 202 are also called a forward recognition device.

[0014] The driving condition sensor 203 is a sensor that detects information related to the driving condition of the vehicle 500. The driving condition sensor 203 is, for example, a vehicle speed sensor, an accelerator sensor, a brake sensor, a steering angle sensor, a turn signal switch, etc. The driving condition sensor 203 detects, for example, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 500, the accelerator operation amount, the brake operation amount, the steering angle, the operation state of the turn signal, etc. The driving condition sensor 203 transmits the detected information related to the driving condition of the vehicle 500 to the control device 100.

[0015] The control device 100 is configured by a computer including a CPU 101 and a storage unit 102. Specifically, the control device 100 is configured as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The storage unit 102 is configured by a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk drive, etc. Various programs that control the operation of the control device 100 are stored in the storage unit 102. The CPU 101 executes the programs stored in the storage unit 102 to function as an available parking position acquisition unit 10, a parking space determination unit 20, a driving trajectory prediction unit 30, and a parking lot interior determination unit 40.

[0016] The available parking position acquisition unit 10 acquires a parked vehicle PV or a parking stall PF included in an image captured in front of the vehicle 500 as an available parking position. The parking stall PF is a parking space for parking one vehicle 500. FIG. 2 shows a bird's-eye view of the vehicle 500 and the parked vehicles PV and parking stalls PF located in front of the vehicle 500. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the image captured in front of the vehicle 500 includes one parked vehicle PV and two parking stalls PF. In this case, the available parking position acquisition unit 10 acquires the one parked vehicle PV and two parking stalls PF described above as available parking positions. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the parking stall PF is a parking space defined by a rectangle drawn on the road surface. The available parking position acquisition unit 10 detects the parked vehicle PV or the parking stall PF included in the image captured in front of the vehicle 500 using a machine learning model trained in advance using images captured of the parked vehicle PV and images captured of the parking stall PF. The machine learning model uses, for example, a convolutional neural network as an algorithm. The available parking position acquisition unit 10 may detect the parked vehicle PV or the parking space PF included in the image captured in front of the vehicle 500 by using a method such as pattern matching or edge detection.

[0017] The parking space determination unit 20 determines, as a parking space, an area including a rectangle that includes a single possible parking position as a starting point, a plurality of possible parking positions that are consecutive from the starting point in a first direction, and a plurality of possible parking positions that are consecutive from the starting point in a second direction that intersects with the first direction. Parking spaces will be described later.

[0018] The traveling trajectory prediction unit 30 calculates a predicted traveling trajectory of the vehicle 500 based on the traveling state of the vehicle 500 acquired by the traveling state sensor 203. Here, the predicted traveling trajectory means a trajectory that the vehicle 500 is predicted to travel if the current traveling state of the vehicle 500 is maintained. The traveling trajectory prediction unit 30 calculates the predicted traveling trajectory based on, for example, the vehicle speed acquired by a vehicle speed sensor, the steering angle acquired by a steering angle sensor, and the like.

[0019] The parking lot interior determination unit 40 determines whether the vehicle 500 is present in a parking lot based on the relative positional relationship between the vehicle 500 and the parking space.

[0020] When the vehicle 500 is traveling at a speed equal to or less than a predetermined speed, or when the vehicle 500 is stopped, the control device 100 repeatedly executes the parking lot interior determination process shown in Fig. 3 at predetermined intervals. The parking lot interior determination process will be described below with reference to Figs. 3 to 8.

[0021] In step S10 of FIG. 3 , the available parking position acquisition unit 10 searches for a parked vehicle PV or a parking space PF included in the image captured by the camera 201 .

[0022] In step S20, the available parking position acquisition unit 10 determines whether or not a parked vehicle PV or a parking stall PF is included in the image captured by the camera 201. If it is determined that a parked vehicle PV or a parking stall PF is included in the image, the control device 100 executes step S30. If it is determined that a parked vehicle PV or a parking stall PF is not included in the image, the control device 100 returns the process to step S10.

[0023] In step S30, the available parking position acquisition unit 10 acquires, as available parking positions, parked vehicles PV or parking stalls PF included in the image captured by the camera 201. For example, when the vehicle 500 is located at the position shown in FIG. 4 , the image captured by the camera 201 includes parked vehicles PV1, PV2, PV3, parking stalls PF1, and PV4. The available parking position acquisition unit 10 acquires, as available parking positions, parked vehicles PV1, PV2, PV3, parking stalls PF1, and PV4. When the vehicle 500 is located at the position shown in FIG. 5 , the image captured by the camera 201 includes parked vehicles PV5, PV6, PV7, parking stalls PF2, and parked vehicles PV8. The available parking position acquisition unit 10 acquires the parked vehicle PV5, the parked vehicle PV6, the parked vehicle PV7, the parking stall PF2, and the parked vehicle PV8 as available parking positions. Step S30 is also referred to as an available parking position acquisition step.

[0024] In step S40, the parking space determination unit 20 determines whether the parking space available position acquired in step S30 satisfies the parking space determination conditions. Here, satisfying the parking space determination conditions means satisfying all of the following conditions A, B, C, and D. If it is determined that the parking space available position satisfies the parking space determination conditions, the control device 100 executes step S50. If it is determined that the parking space available position does not satisfy the parking space determination conditions, the control device 100 returns the process to step S10. Condition A: A plurality of parking spaces are consecutive in the first direction from the parking space available position that is the starting point. Condition B: A plurality of parking spaces are consecutive in the second direction from the parking space available position that is the starting point. Condition C: A plurality of parking spaces consecutive in the first direction are adjacent to each other at a distance equal to or less than a predetermined distance. Condition D: A plurality of parking spaces consecutive in the second direction are adjacent to each other at a distance equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

[0025] Here, the starting points in Condition A and Condition B are the same parking position. The first direction and the second direction are directions within a horizontal plane. The second direction is a direction intersecting the first direction. Condition C means that adjacent parked vehicles PV, adjacent parking stalls PF, or adjacent parked vehicles PV and parking stalls PF in the first direction are located at a distance equal to or less than a predetermined distance. Condition D is similar to Condition C. In the example shown in FIG. 4 , with parked vehicle PV1 as the starting point, parked vehicle PV4 is continuous in the first direction, and parked vehicles PV2, PV3, and parking stall PF1 are continuous in the second direction. That is, two parking positions are continuous from the starting point in the first direction, and four parking positions are continuous from the starting point in the second direction. In the example shown in FIG. 4 , the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. 5, with parked vehicle PV5 as the starting point, parked vehicle PV8 is continuous in the first direction, and parked vehicle PV6, parked vehicle PV7, and parking stall PF2 are continuous in the second direction. That is, two possible parking positions are continuous in the first direction from the starting point, and four possible parking positions are continuous in the second direction from the starting point.

[0026] In step S50, the parking space determination unit 20 determines, as the parking space PS, a range including a rectangle that, in a top view, surrounds the consecutive parking positions from the starting point in the first direction and the consecutive parking positions from the starting point in the second direction. In this embodiment, the parking space determination unit 20 determines, as the parking space PS, a range of a parallelogram having sides parallel to the first direction and sides parallel to the second direction that surrounds the above-mentioned parking positions. When parking positions are present as shown in FIG. 4, the parking space determination unit 20 determines, as the parking space PS, a rectangular range that surrounds the parking positions of parked vehicle PV1, parked vehicle PV2, parked vehicle PV3, parking stall PF1, and parked vehicle PV4. When parking positions are present as shown in FIG. 5, the parking space determination unit 20 determines, as the parking space PS, a parallelogram range that surrounds the parking positions of parked vehicle PV5, parked vehicle PV6, parked vehicle PV7, parking stall PF2, and parked vehicle PV8. The parking space PS is preferably an area surrounded by the smallest parallelogram that includes all available parking positions that satisfy the parking space determination conditions. The parking space PS may also include an area where available parking positions have not been acquired. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the area where available parking positions have not been acquired is hatched with diagonal lines. The area where available parking positions have not been acquired is an area where it is unclear whether a parked vehicle PV or a parking stall PF exists. The parking space determination unit 20 stores the position information of the parking space PS determined in step S50 in the memory unit 102. The memory unit 102 stores the position information of the parking space PS for a predetermined period of time from the time the position information of each parking space PS is stored. Step S50 is also referred to as a parking space determination process.

[0027] In step S60, the travel locus prediction unit 30 calculates a predicted travel locus of the vehicle 500.

[0028] In step S70, the parking lot interior determination unit 40 determines whether the vehicle 500 is located in a parking lot based on the relative positional relationship between the vehicle 500 and the parking space PS. The parking lot interior determination unit 40 determines that the vehicle 500 is located in a parking lot if the parking lot interior determination condition is met. Here, meeting the parking lot interior determination condition means meeting any of the following conditions E, F, and G. If it is determined that the parking lot interior determination condition is met, the control device 100 executes step S80. If it is determined that the parking lot interior determination condition is not met, the control device 100 returns the process to step S10. Step S70 is also referred to as the parking lot interior determination process. Condition E: The distance between the parking spaces PS located on both the left and right sides of the vehicle 500 is shorter than a predetermined distance. Condition F: The predicted arrival time of the vehicle 500 to the parking space PS is shorter than a predetermined time. Condition G: The turning back parking condition is met.

[0029] Condition E will be described below with reference to FIG. 6 . In the example shown in FIG. 6 , parking space PS1 is located on the left side of vehicle 500, and parking space PS2 is located on the right side of vehicle 500. Parking space PS1 and parking space PS2 are located at positions separated by a distance L. Distance L is calculated by control device 100 based on the image captured by camera 201 or the distance between vehicle 500 and parked vehicle PV detected by radar 202. Condition E means that distance L is shorter than a predetermined distance. In other words, parking lot interior determination unit 40 determines that vehicle 500 is not located in a parking lot when the distance between parking spaces PS located on both the left and right sides of vehicle 500 is longer than a predetermined distance.

[0030] The predicted arrival time of the vehicle 500 to the parking space PS shown in condition F is calculated by the control device 100 using the predicted travel trajectory of the vehicle 500 predicted by the travel trajectory prediction unit 30 and the distance between the current position of the vehicle 500 and the parking space PS. The current position of the vehicle 500 is calculated as a relative position to the parking space PS based on the relative position of the vehicle 500 to the parking space PS when the parking space PS was determined in step S50 and the subsequent movement path of the vehicle 500. The movement path of the vehicle 500 is calculated using the vehicle speed acquired by the vehicle speed sensor, the steering angle acquired by the steering angle sensor, and the like. Note that when a portion of the vehicle 500 is present within the parking space PS, the predicted arrival time is the time predicted to take for the entire vehicle 500 to move into the parking space PS.

[0031] Condition G will be described below with reference to Figures 7 and 8. As shown in Figure 7, when the vehicle 500 is at position A, the parking space determination unit 20 determines a rectangular area surrounding the parked vehicle PV11, the parking stall PF11, the parked vehicle PV12, the parking stall PF12, and the parked vehicle PV13 that are located on the left front side of the vehicle 500 as the parking space PS3. It is assumed that the driver of the vehicle 500 then moves the vehicle 500 to position B and backs up the vehicle 500 to park it in the parking stall PF13. Note that when the vehicle 500 is at position A, it is unclear whether a parked vehicle PV or a parking stall PF exists at the position of the parking stall PF13, but it is assumed that the driver has confirmed that a parking stall PF exists at the position of the parking stall PF13 when the vehicle 500 moves to position B.

[0032] 8 shows a state in which the vehicle 500 has moved to position B in FIG. 7. Meeting the turning back parking conditions means meeting the following conditions G1 and G2. Condition G1: The angle between the vehicle 500 and the parking stall PF13 in which the vehicle 500 is attempting to park is smaller than a predetermined angle. Condition G2: The vehicle 500 is present within the parking action area PA.

[0033] In the condition G1, the angle formed between the vehicle 500 and the parking stall PF13 is the angle Q formed between the direction along the traveling direction of the vehicle 500 and the front-rear direction of the parking stall PF13. In the condition G2, the parking action area PA is a range set for the parking stall PF13 where the vehicle 500 is going to park. The parking action area PA is a range from one corner R of the parking stall PF13 within a predetermined distance X in the left-right direction of the parking stall PF13 and within a predetermined distance Y in the front-rear direction of the parking stall PF13. Here, the angle R is a corner that is close to the vehicle 500 in the front-rear direction of the parking stall PF13 and far from the vehicle 500 in the left-right direction of the parking stall PF13.

[0034] 3, the parking lot interior determination unit 40 determines that the vehicle 500 is present in a parking lot. The parking lot interior determination process is executed as described above.

[0035] According to the control device 100 in the first embodiment described above, the parking lot interior determination unit 40 determines whether or not the vehicle 500 is present in the parking lot based on the relative positional relationship between the vehicle 500 and the parking space PS. Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining whether or not the vehicle 500 is present in the parking lot compared to when determining whether or not the vehicle 500 is present in the parking lot using only the parked vehicle PV or the parking stall PF included in the image captured in front of the vehicle 500.

[0036] In this embodiment, the parking space determination unit 20 determines the range of a parallelogram, which has sides parallel to the first direction and sides parallel to the second direction and surrounds the consecutive parking positions from the starting point in the first direction and the consecutive parking positions from the starting point in the second direction, as the parking space PS. Therefore, the portion of the parking space PS that is not a parking position can be narrowed.

[0037] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in Conditions C and D, the parking space determination unit 20 determines a rectangular area surrounding the available parking positions as a parking space PS when multiple consecutive available parking positions in the first direction are adjacent to each other at a distance equal to or less than a predetermined distance and multiple consecutive available parking positions in the second direction are adjacent to each other at a distance equal to or less than a predetermined distance. In a parking lot, parked vehicles PV are adjacent to each other at a shorter distance than vehicles parked on a congested multi-lane road. Therefore, when the vehicle 500 is traveling on a congested multi-lane road at a speed equal to or less than a predetermined speed or when the vehicle 500 is parked on a congested multi-lane road, the possibility of erroneously determining that the vehicle 500 is located in a parking lot can be reduced.

[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the parking lot interior determination unit 40 determines that the vehicle 500 is located in a parking lot when the distance between the parking spaces PS located on both the left and right sides of the vehicle 500 is shorter than a predetermined distance, as indicated by condition E. The parking lot interior determination process for when parking spaces PS exist on both the left and right sides of the vehicle 500 will be described below with reference to FIG. 9 . As shown in FIG. 9 , when the vehicle 500 is located at position C, the parking space determination unit 20 determines a rectangular area surrounding multiple parked vehicles PV and parking stalls PF located on the right front side of the vehicle 500 as a parking space PS4. The parking space PS4 includes a range RG1 for which no available parking positions have been acquired. Thereafter, when the vehicle 500 moves to position D, the parking space determination unit 20 determines a rectangular area surrounding multiple parked vehicles PV and parking stalls PF located on the right front side of the vehicle 500 as a parking space PS5. When the vehicle 500 then turns right and moves to position E, there is a parking space PS4 on the right side of the vehicle 500 and a parking space PS5 on the left side of the vehicle 500. That is, there are parking spaces PS on both the left and right sides of the vehicle 500. At this time, if the distance between the parking space PS4 and the parking space PS5 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the parking lot interior determination unit 40 determines that the vehicle 500 is located in the parking lot. Therefore, even if the parked vehicle PV or the parking stall PF located in the range RG1 is hidden by the parked vehicle PV located to the right of the vehicle 500 when the vehicle 500 moves to position E, it is determined that the vehicle 500 is located in the parking lot. This improves the accuracy of determining whether the vehicle 500 is located in the parking lot.

[0039] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the parking lot interior determination unit 40 determines that the vehicle 500 is present in the parking lot if the predicted arrival time of the vehicle 500 to the parking space PS is shorter than a predetermined time, as indicated by condition F. Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining whether the vehicle 500 is present in the parking lot compared to when determining whether the vehicle 500 is present in the parking lot by using only the parked vehicle PV or the parking space PF included in the image captured in front of the vehicle 500.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in condition G, the parking lot interior determination unit 40 determines that the vehicle 500 is present in the parking lot when the angle formed between the vehicle 500 and the parking stall PF is smaller than a predetermined angle and the vehicle 500 is present in the parking action area PA. When the vehicle 500 attempts to park in a parking stall PF located behind the vehicle 500 in the parking lot, there may be no parked vehicle PV or parking stall PF in front of the vehicle 500. When condition G is satisfied, it can be determined that the vehicle 500 is present in the parking lot even if no parked vehicle PV or parking stall PF is present in front of the vehicle 500. Therefore, the accuracy of determining whether the vehicle 500 is present in the parking lot can be improved.

[0041] B. Second Embodiment In the second embodiment, the control device 100b determines whether the vehicle 500 is present in a parking lot, and suppresses the driving force of the vehicle 500 if the acceleration operation device is erroneously operated while the vehicle 500 is present in the parking lot. As shown in FIG. 10 , the control device 100b is communicatively connected to a driving device 211, a steering device 212, and a braking device 213 mounted on the vehicle 500. The CPU 101 also functions as an operation amount acquisition unit 50 and a driving force suppression unit 60 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 102. The other configurations of the control device 100b in the second embodiment are the same as those of the control device 100 in the first embodiment.

[0042] The drive unit 211 generates a drive force to be transmitted to the drive wheels of the vehicle 500. The drive unit 211 is, for example, an electric motor or an engine.

[0043] The steering device 212 applies a steering force to the wheels of the vehicle 500. The steering device 212 is, for example, an electric power steering device.

[0044] The braking device 213 applies a braking force to the wheels of the vehicle 500. The braking device 213 is, for example, a brake.

[0045] The operation amount acquisition unit 50 acquires the operation amount of the acceleration operation device. The acceleration operation device is, for example, an accelerator, and the operation amount of the acceleration operation device is, for example, the amount of depression of the accelerator. The operation amount acquisition unit 50 acquires, for example, the amount of depression of the accelerator detected by an accelerator sensor included in the driving state sensor 203.

[0046] The driving force suppression unit 60 suppresses the driving force of the vehicle 500 when it is determined that the vehicle 500 is present in a parking lot and the operation amount of the acceleration operation device is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

[0047] When the vehicle 500 is traveling at a speed equal to or less than a predetermined speed or when the vehicle 500 is stopped, the control device 100b repeatedly executes the driving force suppression process shown in Fig. 11 at a predetermined cycle. First, in step S110, the parking lot determination process shown in Fig. 3 is executed. Therefore, steps S120 to S150 are executed when it is determined that the vehicle 500 is in a parking lot.

[0048] In step S120, the operation amount obtaining unit 50 obtains the operation amount of the acceleration operation device.

[0049] In step S130, the control device 100b determines whether the driver of the vehicle 500 has erroneously operated the acceleration operating device. The driver of the vehicle 500 erroneously operating the acceleration operating device means, for example, that the driver of the vehicle 500 mistakenly presses the accelerator instead of the brake. The control device 100b determines that the driver has erroneously operated the acceleration operating device when all of the following conditions H to L are met. If it is determined that the driver has erroneously operated the acceleration operating device, the control device 100b executes step S140. If it is determined that the driver has not erroneously operated the acceleration operating device, the control device 100b terminates the driving force suppression process. Condition H: The vehicle speed of the vehicle 500 is less than a predetermined vehicle speed. Condition I: The operation amount of the acceleration operating device is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. Condition J: The operation speed of the acceleration operating device is equal to or greater than a predetermined operation speed. Condition K: The brakes are not operated. Condition L: The direction indicator is not operated.

[0050] Condition H is determined based on the vehicle speed detected by a vehicle speed sensor included in the driving condition sensor 203. Condition I is determined based on the accelerator depression amount detected by an accelerator sensor. Condition J is determined based on the value obtained by dividing the accelerator depression amount by time. Condition K is determined based on the detection result of a brake sensor included in the driving condition sensor 203. Condition L is determined based on the detection result of a turn signal switch included in the driving condition sensor 203.

[0051] In step S140, driving force suppression unit 60 suppresses the driving force of vehicle 500. Driving force suppression unit 60 controls the operation of drive device 211 so that the acceleration of vehicle 500 is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

[0052] In step S150, the control device 100b determines whether the amount of operation of the acceleration operating device has decreased to a predetermined threshold or less. For example, the control device 100b determines whether the amount of accelerator depression detected by the accelerator sensor has decreased to a predetermined threshold or less. If it is determined that the amount of operation of the acceleration operating device has decreased to a predetermined threshold or less, the control device 100b terminates the driving force suppression process. If it is determined that the amount of operation of the acceleration operating device has not decreased to a predetermined threshold or less, the control device 100b returns the process to step S140. The driving force suppression process is executed as described above.

[0053] According to the control device 100 in the second embodiment described above, when it is determined that the driver of the vehicle 500 has mistakenly operated the acceleration operating device while it is determined that the vehicle 500 is present in a parking lot, the driving force suppression unit 60 suppresses the driving force of the vehicle 500. Therefore, even if the driver mistakes the accelerator for the brake while the vehicle 500 is present in a parking lot, it is possible to suppress sudden acceleration of the vehicle 500.

[0054] C. Other Embodiments: (C-1) In the above embodiment, the parking space determination condition is to satisfy all of Condition A, Condition B, Condition C, and Condition D. In contrast, the parking space determination condition may be to satisfy all of Condition A, Condition B, Condition C, Condition D, and Condition M, which will be described later. Condition M: There are fewer than a predetermined number of consecutive parking positions in a first direction, which is the front-to-rear direction of the parking positions.

[0055] The forward / backward direction of the parking position in condition M is the direction along which the parked vehicle PV moves when the parked vehicle PV moves forward or backward, or the longitudinal direction of the parking stall PF. Figures 4 and 5 show an example in which two parking positions are consecutive in a first direction, which is the forward / backward direction of the parking position.

[0056] According to this embodiment, when there are fewer than a predetermined number of consecutive parking positions in a first direction, which is the front-to-rear direction of the parking positions, the parking space determination unit 20 determines that a rectangular area surrounding the parking positions in a top view is a parking space PS. On a congested multi-lane road, the positions of multiple parked vehicles are the same as when many parked vehicles PV are consecutively positioned in the front-to-rear direction. Therefore, by setting an upper limit on the number of parking positions lined up in the front-to-rear direction, it is possible to reduce the possibility of erroneously determining that the vehicle 500 is located in a parking lot when the vehicle 500 is traveling on a congested multi-lane road at a speed equal to or lower than a predetermined speed or when the vehicle 500 is parked on a congested multi-lane road.

[0057] (C-2) In the above embodiment, the parking space determination condition is that all of condition A, condition B, condition C, and condition D are satisfied. However, the parking space determination condition may also be that all of condition A, condition B, condition C, condition D, and condition N, which will be described later, are satisfied. The predetermined number in condition N is an integer of 3 or greater. Condition N: There are more than a predetermined number of consecutive parking positions to the left and right of the parking positions.

[0058] The left-right direction of the parking position in condition N is the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the parking position in the horizontal plane. Figure 4 shows an example in which four parking positions are consecutive in the second direction, which is the left-right direction of the parking position.

[0059] According to this embodiment, when there are more than a predetermined number of consecutive parking positions in the horizontal direction, the parking space determination unit 20 determines that a rectangular area surrounding the parking positions in a top view is a parking space PS. On a multi-lane road, the positions of multiple vehicles stopped at a traffic light are the same as when many parked vehicles PV are consecutively located in the horizontal direction. However, in an actual parking lot, there is a high possibility that there are more parked vehicles PV or parking stalls PF consecutively located in the horizontal direction than the number of lanes on the multi-lane road. Therefore, by setting a lower limit for the number of consecutive parking positions in the horizontal direction, it is possible to reduce the possibility of erroneously determining that the vehicle 500 is located in a parking lot when the vehicle 500 is traveling on a multi-lane road at a speed equal to or lower than a predetermined speed or when the vehicle 500 is parked on a multi-lane road.

[0060] (C-3) In the above embodiment, the parking space determination condition is that all of conditions A, B, C, and D are satisfied. However, the parking space determination condition may also be that all of conditions A, B, C, D, and condition O, which will be described later, are satisfied. Note that the angle in condition O is the angle formed by the straight lines along the front-to-rear direction of each possible parking position. Condition O: Multiple possible parking positions are adjacent to each other at an angle equal to or less than a predetermined angle.

[0061] (C-4) In the above embodiment, the parking space determination condition is to satisfy all of condition A, condition B, condition C, and condition D. In contrast, the parking space determination condition may be to satisfy at least condition A and condition B among condition A, condition B, condition C, and condition D.

[0062] (C-5) In the above embodiment, the parking space determination unit 20 determines, as a parking space PS, a range of a parallelogram having sides parallel to the first direction and sides parallel to the second direction, which encloses consecutive parking positions from the starting point in a first direction and consecutive parking positions from the starting point in a second direction. Alternatively, the parking space determination unit 20 may determine, as a parking space PS, a range including a rectangle enclosing consecutive parking positions from the starting point in the first direction and consecutive parking positions from the starting point in the second direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 12 , the parking space determination unit 20 may determine, as a parking space PS, a range of an ellipse including a rectangle T enclosing two consecutive parking positions in the first direction and two consecutive parking positions in the second direction. Note that the parking space determination unit 20 may determine, instead of an ellipse, a polygonal range including the rectangle T or an area enclosed by a curve enclosing the rectangle T as a parking space PS.

[0063] (C-6) In the above embodiment, in step S130 of the driving force suppression process shown in Figure 11, the control device 100b determines that the driver has erroneously operated the acceleration operating device if all of conditions H to L are met. In contrast, the control device 100b may determine that the driver has erroneously operated the acceleration operating device if at least condition I is met.

[0064] (C-7) In the above embodiment, the parking stall PF is a parking stall defined by a rectangle drawn on the road surface. On the other hand, the parking stall PF may be a parking stall defined by two parallel straight lines drawn on the road surface. In addition, the parking stall PF is not limited to a parking stall defined by a line drawn on the road surface, but may be a parking stall defined by an object such as a road cone or a block placed on the road surface.

[0065] (C-8) The control device 100 and the methods described herein may be implemented by a special-purpose computer configured by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the control device 100 and the methods described herein may be implemented by a special-purpose computer configured by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control device 100 and the methods described herein may be implemented by one or more special-purpose computers configured by combining a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions with a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. Furthermore, the computer program may be stored as instructions executed by a computer on a computer-readable non-transitory tangible storage medium.

[0066] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be realized in various configurations without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each aspect described in the Summary of the Invention section can be appropriately replaced or combined to solve some or all of the above-described problems or 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 appropriately deleted.

Claims

1. A control device (100, 100b) comprising: a parking position acquisition unit (10) that acquires a parked vehicle (PV) or a parking frame (PF) included in an image captured in front of a vehicle (500) as a parking position; and a parking space determination unit (20) that determines, as a parking space (PS), an area including a rectangle that takes one of the parking positions as a starting point, surrounds a plurality of the parking positions that are successive from the starting point in a first direction, and a plurality of the parking positions that are successive from the starting point in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

2. A control device as described in claim 1, wherein the rectangle is a parallelogram having a side parallel to the first direction and a side parallel to the second direction, and the parking space determination unit determines the range of the rectangle as the parking space.

3. A control device as described in claim 1, wherein the parking space determination unit determines that an area including the rectangle is the parking space when a plurality of consecutive parking positions in the first direction are adjacent to each other at a distance equal to or less than a predetermined distance, and a plurality of consecutive parking positions in the second direction are adjacent to each other at a distance equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

4. A control device as described in claim 1, wherein the first direction is the forward / backward direction of the possible parking positions, and the parking space determination unit determines that an area including the rectangle is the parking space when there are fewer than a predetermined number of possible parking positions consecutively in the first direction.

5. A control device as described in claim 1, comprising an in-parking lot determination unit (40) that determines whether or not the vehicle is present in a parking lot based on the relative positional relationship between the vehicle and the parking space, and the in-parking lot determination unit determines that the vehicle is not present in the parking lot when the distance between the parking spaces on either the left or right side of the vehicle is longer than a predetermined distance.

6. A control device as described in claim 1, comprising an in-parking lot determination unit (40) that determines whether or not the vehicle is present in the parking lot based on the relative positional relationship between the vehicle and the parking space, and the in-parking lot determination unit determines that the vehicle is present in the parking lot if the predicted arrival time of the vehicle to the parking space is shorter than a predetermined time.

7. A control device as described in claim 1, comprising: an operation amount acquisition unit (50) that acquires an operation amount of an acceleration operation device; an in-parking lot determination unit (40) that determines whether or not the vehicle is present in a parking lot based on the relative positional relationship between the vehicle and the parking space; and a driving force suppression unit (60) that suppresses the driving force of the vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle is present in the parking lot and the operation amount of the acceleration operation device is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

8. A parking lot determination method comprising: a parking position acquisition step of acquiring a parked vehicle (PV) or a parking frame (PF) included in an image captured in front of a vehicle (500) as a parking position; and a parking space determination step of determining, as a parking space (PS), an area including a rectangle that, starting from one of the parking positions, surrounds a plurality of the parking positions that are successive from the starting position in a first direction and a plurality of the parking positions that are successive from the starting point in a second direction intersecting the first direction.