Method to operate a parking function for a vehicle

Abstract

The method relates to a method to operate a parking function (28) for a vehicle (1), wherein the vehicle (1) is driving past multiple parking slots (3). The method comprises for each parking slot (3): determining (S1) a slot orientation information (21) describing if the parking slot (3) is intended for parallel or transverse parking by applying a slot orientation determining algorithm (22); storing (S2) the determined slot orientation information (21) in a storage unit (20) of the vehicle (1); and providing (S3) the stored slot orientation information (21) to the parking function (28). If no distinct slot orientation information (21) is determined for at least one of the parking slots (3), the last stored slot orientation information (21) is considered as the determined slot orientation information (21) for this at least one parking slot (3) and provided to the parking function (28).

Description

[0001] 2023PF02029

[0002] 1

[0003] Method to operate a parking function for a vehicle

[0004] The invention relates to a method to operate a parking function for a vehicle. The method is performed while the vehicle is driving past multiple parking slots for each one of the parking slot. Moreover, the invention relates to a control device, a vehicle and a computer program product to perform such a method.

[0005] A vehicle may provide a parking function. The parking function may be configured for at least assisted parking of the vehicle in an unoccupied parking slot. In particular, it may be configured for semiautomatic or fully automatic parking. To provide a particular comfortable parking function, the parking function should not just detect an unoccupied and hence available parking slot for the vehicle but also provide details on the parking slot to determine how to park into the parking slot.

[0006] However, their details may be difficult to determine. This may be the case, if there are, for example, no parking slot markings on the ground that indicate the specific location and orientation of the parking slot with respect to a road on which the vehicle is driving. Then, complex or more time consuming calculations in the vehicle may be required to support the parking function.

[0007] DE 10 2018 207 234 A1 discloses a method to operate a vehicle with a parking system configured for steering the vehicle. The method comprises detecting a parking slot and a parked vehicle on a parking slot next to the detected parking slot. Passive detection of emitted signals of the parked vehicles are used to identify the orientation of the parked vehicle. It is then possible to determine if the parked vehicle is parked parallel or transversal in the parking slot. The received information about the neighboring parking slot is used to decide between parallel and transversal parking.

[0008] It is the object of the invention to improve determining details about a parking slot for a parking function of a vehicle.

[0009] The independent claims solve the object.

[0010] A first aspect of the invention relates to a method to operate a parking function for a vehicle. When performing the method, the vehicle is driving past multiple parking slots. The vehicle may be located on a road with parking slots located at least at one edge of the road. When performing the method it may be possible for the vehicle to be temporarily at standstill. The method comprises the following steps for each individual parking slot. A control device of the vehicle may perform the steps of the method. The parking slots may alternatively be referred to as parking spaces.

[0011] The method comprises determining a slot orientation information by applying a slot orientation determining algorithm. The slot orientation information describes if the parking slot is intended for parallel and transverse parking. Thus, the slot orientation information describes if the parking slot is oriented parallel to the road on which the vehicle is driving or if it is oriented with an angle larger than 0 degree with respect to the road. If the angle is larger than 0 degrees, in particular larger than at least 10, 20, 30, 40, or 45 degrees, the 2023PF02029

[0012] 2 parking slot may be intended for transverse parking. Transverse parking may be alternatively referred to as perpendicular or angled parking. Transverse parking may comprise parking into a fishbone parking slot. In other words, the orientation of the parking slot with respect to the road on which the vehicle is driving is determined and described by the slot orientation information. The slot orientation determining algorithm comprises at least one rule that is applied, for example, on data available to the vehicle to determine the slot orientation information. In a simple example, the slot orientation determining algorithm may be applied on a raw sensor information and / or processed sensor information, wherein the sensor information describes at least a part of an environment of the vehicle.

[0013] The method comprises storing the determined slot orientation information in a storage unit of the vehicle. Storing the determined slot orientation information means saving the determined slot orientation information. The storage unit may alternatively be referred to as a memory unit. The storage unit may be a random access memory (RAM). The storage unit may be part of the control device of the vehicle and / or may be accessible by the control device of the vehicle. In an example, the storage unit may be a circular buffer or ring buffer.

[0014] The method comprises providing the stored slot orientation information to the parking function. Providing the stored slot orientation information may comprise transmitting it to the parking function via vehicle internal communication means, such as a bus and / or wirelessly. If the control device executes the parking function, providing the slot orientation information may be an internal process in the control device so that the parking function may gain access to the slot orientation information. If there is another control device or control unit in the vehicle that performs the parking function, there may be the vehicle internal transmittance of the stored slot orientation information to the other control device or control unit that performs the parking function. Once the slot orientation information is provided to the parking function, the parking function may process and / or analyze it.

[0015] If no distinct slot orientation information is determined for at least one of the parking slots, the last stored slot orientation information is considered as the determined slot orientation information for this parking slot. The last stored slot orientation information is then provided to the parking function for this parking slot. The last stored slot orientation information is the slot information that was most recently stored in the storage unit. This means that whenever it is possible to determine the slot orientation information for a parking slot, the determined slot orientation information is stored and provided to the parking function. However, if determining the slot orientation information is impossible or unsuccessful so that no slot orientation information is determined for one of the parking slots, there is still a slot orientation information provided to the parking function for this parking slot because the last stored slot orientation information is used instead. It is therefore assumed that the last stored slot orientation information is also valid for the currently viewed parking slot. No distinct slot orientation information means that it is or was not possible to decide if the parking slot is only intended for parallel parking or if it is only intended for transverse parking. If a parking slot may be intended for both types of parking, meaning for both parallel and transverse parking, the determined slot orientation information may be not distinct or at least not distinct enough. 2023PF02029

[0016] 3

[0017] If, for example, there are multiple neighboring parking slots and it was possible to determine the slot orientation information for a first one of the multiple neighboring parking slots, the method assumes that a neighboring second parking slot of the multiple neighboring parking slots has the same slot orientation as the previously passed by first parking slot. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider the last stored slot orientation information also for the currently considered parking slot although the exact slot orientation information could not be determined for the second parking slot. By providing the slot orientation information for each parking slot and not only for the ones for which the slot orientation determining algorithm can determine it in a distinct way, determining details about a parking slot for a parking function of a vehicle is improved.

[0018] In general, determining the slot orientation information may be performed for each parking slot the vehicle passes by no matter if this parking slot is currently occupied by a parked vehicle or if it is unoccupied and hence available for parking. In an example, the method may be limited to unoccupied parking slots which are of interest for the parking function of the vehicle.

[0019] The storage unit may have a predetermined storage size so that, for example, only a predetermined number of determined slot orientation information is storable in the storage unit. Once this number is met, the first stored slot orientation information may be overwritten by a new slot orientation information, which then becomes the latest stored slot orientation information. Alternatively, the older slot orientation information may be deleted. Thus, it is possible to have a relatively small storage unit but still be able to always store the slot orientation information which may be needed for an upcoming parking slot.

[0020] An embodiment comprises that to determine the respective slot orientation information the slot orientation determining algorithm is applied on a sensor information. The sensor information describes at least a part of an environment of the vehicle that comprises at least a part of the respective parking slot. In particular, the sensor information describes at least the entire parking slot. The sensor information may describe the entire environment of the vehicle, wherein the environment is limited in a radial direction by a coverage area of a sensor device that captures the sensor information. The sensor information may be captured continuously by the sensor device of the vehicle and provided to the control device for performing the steps of the method. The sensor device may bean ultrasonic sensor, a radar device, a lidar device and / or a camera. In a preferred example, the sensor information used here is captured by the ultrasonic sensor, the radar device and / or the lidar device and describes a distance to an object located in the environment adjacent to the parking slot. In this example, the object limits the parking slot spatially. Determining the parking slot orientation may thus be based on detecting a boundary of the parking slot by taking into account the distance measurements to surrounding objects. However, an optical detection of the object and / or the parking slot by the camera may allow to determine the slot orientation. In a preferred example, a combination of multiple sensor devices out of the listed sensor devices captures the sensor information and provides it to the control device for determining the slot orientation information. Therefore, the vehicle may comprise sensor devices all around the vehicle so that there may be at least one sensor device in a front area, a rear area and / or on sides of the vehicle. The ultrasonic sensors may be located in a bumper of the vehicle, in particular at least in the front and in 2023PF02029

[0021] 4 the back of the vehicle. Determining the slot orientation information is thus particularly reliable.

[0022] A further embodiment comprises that the method comprises determining an object information by applying an object determining algorithm on a sensor information that describes at least a part of the object. The object information describes at least one object adjacent to at least one of the parking slots. The object that is described by the sensor information is hence an object next to the parking slot and / or in the vicinity of the parking slot and / or surrounding at least partially the parking slot. The object information is thus not determined for any object in the environment of the vehicle, but for at least one object with spatial relation to the parking slot. It is assumed here that the object adjacent to the parking slot borders or limits the parking slot and hence comprises information about an extension of the parking slot. In a preferred example, the object information may be determined for all objects surrounding the vehicle.

[0023] The object detection algorithm comprises at least one rule that is applied on the sensor information to determine the object adjacent to the at least one parking slot. The object detection algorithm may detect the object adjacent to the at least one parking slot and describe it by the output object information. The sensor information used here may be the same sensor information described above based on which the slot orientation information may be determined. In a preferred example, the sensor information used to determine the object information comprises at least one camera image and is hence captured and provided by the camera or multiple cameras of the vehicle. However, at least object detection may alternatively or additionally be based on data provided by the ultrasonic sensor, the radar device and / or the lidar device. In an example, thesensor information, the object information and the object class information may be combined so that the slot orientation determining algorithm is applied to all three pieces of information.

[0024] If the object adjacent to the at least one parking slot is detected and described, the method comprises determining an object class information by applying an object classification algorithm on the determined object information. The object class information describes a class of the at least one object. The at least one object is the object adjacent to the at least one parking slot that has been detected and described. The object classification algorithm comprises at least one rule that is applied on the object information to determine the class of the at least one object that is described by the object information. The class may, for example, differentiate between different kinds of objects, such as infrastructure elements. Such infrastructure elements may be, for example, awall, a fence, a pole, a curb and / or a building. Alternatively or additionally, the object class may differentiate between a vehicle, such as a parked vehicle, in particular a specific kind of parked vehicle, a garbage bin, a pillar, a plant, a person, an animal, and / or any other possible objects that may be located on the road or next to the road.

[0025] The method comprises applying the slot orientation determining algorithm on the determined object information and / or object class information to determine the slot orientation information. This means that to determine the slot orientation information, the method may not just or even may not at all rely on raw sensor information but may rely on the object information and / or the object class information. For example, if there is a wall and a parked vehicle adjacent to a free area that may be a parking slot, the method may 2023PF02029

[0026] 5 determine the slot orientation information by analyzing the detected wall and the detected parked vehicle and their position and orientation with respect to the free area and / or the road. If, for example, there is a right angle between the wall and the parked vehicle, and the wall and a length side of the vehicle are oriented parallel to the road, the slot orientation algorithm may identify the parking slot as a parallel parking slot. However, if there is, for example, a large distance between two detected pillars, there may be parallel or transverse parking slots between the pillars. In this case, the slot orientation determining algorithm may determine no distinct slot orientation information. These examples show that the surroundings, meaning the adjacent objects and theirclasses, comprise useful information to determine the slot orientation information.

[0027] Another embodiment comprises that if no object class information is determined for at least one object so that one of the parking slots is adjacent to an unclassified object, no distinct slot orientation information is determined for that one parking slot. In this case, the last stored slot orientation information is considered as the determined slot orientation information for the parking slot. This means that if there is an object neighboring the parking slot that cannot be classified, such as, for example, a garbage can in case the object classification algorithm is not configured to identify a garbage can, the slot orientation determining algorithm is not able to determine the slot orientation information with sufficient certainty. Then, it labels the determined slot orientation information as not distinct. Determining the slot orientation information is thus not sufficiently clear or unambiguous so that no distinct slot orientation information is determinable. This is particularly useful if the parking slot is surrounded by vegetation such as trees and / or bushes which may be difficult to classify. In such cases, it is assumed and hence possible to assign the orientation of the last detected parking slot for this parking slot that is at least partially surrounded by the undefined and hence unclassified object. This shows another case in which it might be useful to rely on clearly distinct slot orientation determined in the past and stored in the storage unit instead of relying on maybe indecisive newly determined information.

[0028] A further embodiment comprises that for each slot the method comprises determining a slot size information which describes a size of the parking slot. The slot size information may be determined by applying a slot size determining algorithm which comprises at least one rule to determine the size of a parking slot. The slot size determining algorithm may be applied on a sensor information that describes at least the part of the environment of the vehicle that comprises at least a part of the respective parking slot. The slot size information may describe a width and / or a length of the respective parking slot. The width may be oriented parallel or at least approximately parallel to the length direction of the road. The length may be oriented transverse or at least approximately transverse to the length direction of the road. In a preferred example, the length maybe oriented perpendicular or at least approximately perpendicular to the length direction of the road. At least approximately means that deviations of, for example, 1 percent, 2 percent, 3 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent, 20 percent, or in particular 30 percent may be tolerated.

[0029] The method comprises verifying if the determined slot size information is in a first slot size range for a parallel parking slot and / or in a second slot size range for a transverse parking slot. The respective slot size range may depend on a length and / or width of the vehicle that is performing the method. The first slot size range and the second slot size range may each comprise or consider a tolerance value so that they are composed of the width or 2023PF02029

[0030] 6 length of the vehicle plus an additional predetermined tolerance range. Alternatively, the respective slot size range may be a respective fixed range that is independent of the vehicle. The two slot size ranges are at least based on the observation that a parallel parking slot has, for example, a smaller length than a transverse parking slot, but a longer width than the transverse parking slot. The slot size ranges hence allow to differentiate between different slot orientations. It is assumed that there is an overlap between the first slot size range and the second slot size range. The slot size ranges only differ from one another in part. Therefore, there is at least one slot size which may indicate a parallel parking slot and a transverse parking slot.

[0031] If the determined slot size information is in both the first slot size range and the second slot size range no distinct slot orientation information is determined for the parking slot. In other words, if the size of the parking slot matches the overlap range of the first slot size range and the second slot size range, it cannot be differentiated between a parallel and a transverse parking slot. Therefore, the slot orientation information cannot be determined precisely so that there is no distinct slot orientation information and the last stored slot orientation information is considered as the determined slot orientation information for the parking slot and provided to the parking function. This shows another case in which determining the slot orientation information may be indecisive so that relying on the last stored slot orientation information is required and reasonable.

[0032] According to a further embodiment, the method comprises the following steps performed for each parking slot that is occupied by a parked vehicle. If the parking slot is occupied or unoccupied may be determined based on the sensor information in advance. This may be done by applying known algorithms to distinguish between occupied and unoccupied parking slots. The method comprises determining a parking orientation information by applying a parking orientation determining algorithm on a sensor information describing at least a part of an environment of the vehicle that comprises at least a part of the parked vehicle. The parking orientation information describes an orientation of the parked vehicle that is parked on the occupied parking slot. It describes, for example, an orientation with respect to boundary lines of the parking slot. The parking orientation information may at least differentiate between a parallel parking orientation of the parked vehicle and a transverse parking orientation of the parked vehicle.

[0033] The parking orientation determining algorithm comprises at least one rule that is applied to differentiate between different parking orientations of the parked vehicle. Thus, it analyzes the sensor information to determine the parking orientation information. The sensor information used for this step of the method may be the same sensor information described above, that describes at least the part of the environment with the respective parking slot and / or at least a part of the object. In a preferred embodiment, the sensor information used for this step comprises at least one camera image and is captured by a front camera of the vehicle. Therefore, applying the parking orientation determining algorithm may comprise performing an image analysis of the image of the parked vehicle to identify the parking orientation of the parked vehicle.

[0034] The method comprises storing the determined parking orientation information in the storage unit and providing the stored parking orientation information to the parking function. Consequently, the parking function does not only receive the slot orientation 2023PF02029

[0035] 7 information but also the parking orientation information so that it receives precise details about how parking slots are oriented and vehicles are parked along the road.

[0036] A particularly preferred embodiment deals with the situation that the at least one parking slot for which no distinct slot orientation information is determined is an unoccupied parking slot. In this case, the last stored parking orientation information is assigned to this parking slot and provided to the parking function. In other words, last stored parking orientation information is considered as the parking orientation information of the parking space without distinct slot orientation information. Relying on past information is hence not just performed to estimate the slot orientation of parking slots, but also to gain more details on available parking slots. The parking function thus receives particular useful information for further processing.

[0037] Another embodiment comprises that the parking orientation information at least differentiates between a parked forward orientation and a parked backward orientation. In other words, the parking orientation information may comprise details on a driving direction with which the parked vehicle is located in the parking slot. The parking orientation information may describe a location of a front or rear area of the vehicle in the parking slot. Thus, the parked forward orientation may describe that the parked vehicle parked with its front ahead in the parking slot, and the parked backward orientation may describe that the parked vehicle parked with its rear ahead in the parking slot. This information may be useful for the parking function to determine a parking trajectory in the parking slot.

[0038] According to another embodiment, the parking function analyzes the provided slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information for the respective unoccupied parking slot to determine a parking trajectory to a parking position in this parking slot. The parking function may use the provided details, which are here the slot orientation information and / or the parking orientation information, to at least determine and in particular to at least semi-automatically operate the vehicle along the parking trajectory. The parking trajectory depends on the slot orientation because it is different for a parallel parking slot and a transverse parking slot. Therefore, it is particularly useful to rely on the slot orientation information for further steps performed by the parking function. The parking orientation information may further support determining the parking trajectory and may help to decide on a driving direction along the parking trajectory and / or to determine the parking position in the parking slot. The method thus improves operating the parking function.

[0039] Another embodiment comprises that the method comprises determining distance information. The distance information describes the distance between two parking slots. One of the two parking slots in the one for which the determined slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information is stored. The other one of the two parking slots is the currently considered parking slot for which the method is determining the stored orientation information and / or parking orientation information. It is then calculated how far apart the two parking slots are located away from each other. It is thus calculated how far away the currently considered parking slot is from the parking slot for which the last stored slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information is available. The distance information may be determined based on odometry data captured and / or determined in the vehicle, such as speed, acceleration, steering angle, and / ortime 2023PF02029

[0040] 8 distance between the last storing event for the slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information and the current calculation of the slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information. Alternatively or additionally, the distance may be determined based on map data available in the vehicle, for example, available for a navigation system in the vehicle.

[0041] The method comprises verifying if the distance information is larger than a predetermined distance threshold. If this is the case, the method comprises discarding the stored slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information. The predefined distance threshold may be, for example, 20 meters. Alternatively or additionally, the distance threshold may be 5, 10, 15, 30, 50, 100, and / or 500 meters. Distance thresholds between the listed values, larger values and / or smaller values may be possible. This means that the method provides a safety measure to ensure that no slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information is used that was determined too far away from the currently considered parking slot so that, for example, a typical orientation of the parking slot and / or the parked vehicles may have changed in the meantime. It is hence particularly useful to consider the distance information when performing the method.

[0042] If, however, the distance information is smaller than or equal to the predefined distance threshold, the method continues as described above, meaning that the last stored orientation information and / or parking orientation information may be considered or assigned to the currently considered parking slot if no distinct slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information can be determined for this parking slot.

[0043] Alternatively or additionally, an embodiment comprises that the method comprises determining an angle describing a steering angle of the vehicle. The angle information may be determined based on odometry data captured and / or determined in the vehicle, such as steering angle data captured by a steering angle sensor in the steering wheel of the vehicle. The angle information hence describes if the vehicle has been driving through a curve or in a straight direction.

[0044] The method comprises verifying if the determined angle information is larger than a predetermined angle threshold. The predetermined angle threshold may be 75 degrees. Alternatively, the angle threshold may be 50, 60, 80, 85, or 90 degrees. Smaller or larger angles or angles between the listed angles may be used as angle threshold.

[0045] If the determined angle information is larger than the predetermined angle threshold, the method comprises discarding the stored slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information. In other words, whenever it may be assumed that, for example, a road on which the vehicle is driving has changed, the stored slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information are considered to be no longer valid due to the road change. In this example, it may not matter how far away the parking slot is located for which the latest slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information was stored, but it is just assumed that this stored information is no longer of interest due to the big detected steering angle that indicated a road change. Thus, a safety measure is implemented to ensure that no unreliable details in slot orientation and / or parking orientation are used. 2023PF02029

[0046] 9

[0047] If, however, the determined angle information is smaller than or equal to the predefined angle threshold, the method continues as described above, meaning that the last stored orientation information and / or parking orientation information may be considered or assigned to the currently considered parking slot if no distinct slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information can be determined for this parking slot.

[0048] Alternatively or additionally, to determine the angle information and verifying it as described above, the method may analyze map data provided in the vehicle to verify if a road change occurs or has occurred. This may comprise a localization of the vehicle, for example, based on data provided by a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as the global positioning system (GPS).

[0049] Moreover, an embodiment comprises that if a road on which the vehicle is located has parking slots on two opposite edges of the road, the slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information are determined and stored for each edge of the road individually. This means that if there is, for example, when view in driving direction of the vehicle a left side and a right side of the road, and hence two different edges of the road, the stored slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information for a parking slot on the left side is never considered or assigned to a parking slot that is located on the opposite right. The left side may be referred to as a first edge of the road and the right side as a second edge of the road. It is hereby assumed that slot orientations and / or parking orientations of parking slots on opposite edges or sides of the road may be different from one another so that the method avoids mixing details about parking slots on different sides or edges of the road. This is meant by determining and storing slot orientation information and parking orientation information individually for each side or edge of the road. This is particularly helpful to increase reliability of the stored slot orientation information and / or parking orientation information for other parking slots in the vicinity.

[0050] Another aspect of the invention relates to a control device for a vehicle. The control device is configured to perform the above-described method. It performs the above-described method. The control device may be understood as a computing unit or as a data processing device with processing circuitry. The control device may therefore perform computing operations in order to process data and hence the computer-implemented method. The computing operations may also include indexed accesses to a data structure, for example a look-up table (LUT).

[0051] In particular, the control device may comprise at least one computer, at least one microcontroller, and / or at least one integrated circuit, for example, at least one applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), at least one field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and / or at least one system on a chip (SoC). The control device may comprise at least one processor, for example, at least one microprocessors, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one graphic processing unit (GPU), and / or at least one signal processor, in particular at least one digital signal processor (DSP). The control device may comprise a physical or a virtual cluster of computers or other of said units.

[0052] The control device may comprise at least one hardware and / or software interface and / or at least one storage unit or memory unit. The storage or memory unit may be implemented as a volatile data memory, for example a dynamic random access memory 2023PF02029

[0053] 10

[0054] (DRAM), or a static random access memory (SRAM), or as a non-volatile data memory, for example a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory or flash EEPROM, a ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), or a phase-change random access memory (PCRAM).

[0055] A further aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle that is configured to perform the above-described method. The vehicle performs the above-described method. The vehicle may comprise at least the control device, the parking function, at least one sensor device and / or other means necessary to perform the inventive method. The vehicle is preferably a motor vehicle, for example, a passenger car, a truck, a bus, a motorcycle and / or a moped.

[0056] Moreover, the invention relates to a computer program product, which is a computer program. The computer program product comprises instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, such as the control device, cause the computer to perform the above-described method.

[0057] In general, the method may be performed by the control device of the vehicle. It is assumed that the sensor device transmits the sensor information to the control device so that the control device may process the sensor information as described above. The method may be understood as a computer-implemented method.

[0058] The embodiments described in connection with the method, both individually and in combination with each other, apply accordingly, when applicable, to the inventive control device, vehicle, and computer program product. The invention comprises combinations of the described embodiments.

[0059] The figures show in:

[0060] Fig. 1 a schematic representation of an environment with multiple parking slots;

[0061] Fig. 2 a schematic representation of steps of a method to operate a parking function for a vehicle; and

[0062] Fig. 3 a schematic representation of two conditions to discard stored information.

[0063] In the figures, same components are labeled with the same reference signs.

[0064] Fig. 1 shows a vehicle 1 that is driving on a road 2. The vehicle 1 is driving along a driving trajectory 18 along the road 2. The road 2 comprises multiple parking slots 3 on a first edge 4 of the road 2 and on the second edge 5 of the road 2. The edges 4, 5 of the road 2 may alternatively be referred to as sides of the road 2. Some of the parking slots 3 are intended for parallel parking and are hence parallel parking slots 6. Other parking slots 3 2023PF02029

[0065] 11 are intended for transverse parking and are hence transverse parking slots 7. Transverse parking may be angled parking, such as fishbone parking, or perpendicular parking. Some of the parking slots 3 are separated from each other by objects, such as a pillar 8, a garbage can 9, a motorcycle 10, and / or plants 11 . Moreover, some parking slots 3 are occupied by parked vehicles 12. Some of the parked vehicles 12 are parked parallel to the road 2 and others are parked transverse, in particular perpendicular, to the road 2. Each parking slot has a width 13 and a length 14. Here the width 13 is defined parallel to a length direction of the road 2, whereas the length 14 is oriented perpendicular to the length direction of the road 2. Some of the parked vehicles 12 have a parkedforward orientation 15, and others have a parked backward orientation 16. The scenery sketched in Fig. 1 is just an example and in no way restrictive.

[0066] Some parking slots 3 are marked with a cross and others with a circle. The parking slots 3 with the crosses are parking slots 3 for which an orientation of the parking slot with respect to the road 2 may be determined in a way that the determined orientation is considered in a distinct or unambiguous way. The parking slots 3 with the circles are parking slots 3 for which a previously determined orientation may be available. For some parking slots 3, such as the one close to the garbage can 9 or the motorcycle 10, it may be possible to only rely on the previously determined orientation.

[0067] Fig. 1 shows a wrongly classified parking slot 17. Here, the vehicle 1 may assume a parallel parking slot 6 although according to the nearby parked vehicle 12, it could be a transverse parking slot 7. The reason for the wrong classification may be inaccurate information about the parking slot 3 and its environment.

[0068] The vehicle 1 may comprise a control device 19 which may be configured to provide or execute a parking function 28 (see reference sign 28 in Fig. 2) for the vehicle 1 . Moreover, the vehicle 1 may comprise a storage unit 20. The vehicle 1 may comprise multiple sensor devices such as a front camera 14 and / or an ultrasonic sensor 51 in a front of the vehicle 1 . There may be multiple ultrasonic sensors 51 in the front and / or in the rear and / oron the sides of the vehicle 1 . Moreover or alternatively, the vehicle 1 may comprise a rear camera, at least one side camera, a radar device and / or lidar device. The vehicle 1 is configured to capture at least a part of its environment by at least one of its sensor devices.

[0069] Fig. 2 shows steps of a method to operate the parking function 28 of the vehicle 1 . When performing the method, the vehicle 1 is driving on the road 2 and passes the multiple parking slots 3. The vehicle 1 may at least temporarily be at standstill when performing the method. The method may be performed by the control device 19 of the vehicle 1 . For each parking slot 3 the method comprises in a step S1 determining a slot orientation information 21 by applying a slot orientation determining algorithm 22. The slot orientation information 21 describes if the parking slot 3 is intended for parallel or transverse parking. It is hence determined, if it is a parallel parking slot 6 or a transverse parking slot 7.

[0070] The slot orientation determining algorithm 22 may be applied on a sensor information 23. The sensor information 23 describes at least a part of an environment of the vehicle 1 that comprises at least a part of the parking slot 3 for which the slot orientation information 21 is being determined. Alternatively or additionally, the slot orientation determining algorithm 22 may be applied on a determined object information 24 and / or a determined object 2023PF02029

[0071] 12 class information 25. Therefore, the method may comprise determining the object information 24 by applying an object detection algorithm 26 on the sensor information 23 that describes at least a part of the object. The object is an object adjacent to the parking slots 3 for which the slot orientation information 21 is being determined. Determining the object class information 25 may be performed by applying an object classification algorithm 27 on the determined object information 24. The object class information 25 describes a class of the at least one object. In the example sketched in Fig. 1 , the object class information 25 may describe the class “pillar” for the pillar 8 and the class “plant” for the plants 11 , for example. However, there may be objects along the road that cannotbe assigned a class. In the example sketched in Fig. 1 , this may be the case for the garbage can 9 and / or the motorcycle 10. It is assumed that the parked vehicles 12 are easily classified as “parked vehicle” by the object classification algorithm 27. The sensor information 23 used to determine the object information 24 and the sensor information 23 used to determine the slot orientation information 21 may be the same or may at least partially overlap or may be different from each other. The sensor information 23 used to determine the slot orientation information 21 may be provided by the ultrasonic sensor 51 . The sensor information 23 to determine the object information 24 may be provided by the front camera 50. The sensor information 23 may be a combination of data captured by multiple sensor devices, such as a combination of data captured by the front camera 50 and the ultrasonic sensor 51 .

[0072] In a step S2, the method comprises the storing the determined slot orientation information 21 in the storage unit 20 of the vehicle 1 . The storage unit 20 may be a random access memory and / or a ring buffer. A step S3 comprises providing the stored slot orientation information 21 to the parking function 28.

[0073] If no distinct slot orientation information 21 is determined for at least one of the parking slots 3, the last stored slot orientation information 21 is considered as the determined slot orientation information 21 and provided to the parking function 28. With respect to Fig. 1 , this may be the case for the parking slot 3 next to the garbage can 9 and / or the motorcycle 10. Therefore, these two parking slots 3 are not marked with the cross but only with the circle. However, determining the slot orientation information 21 for most of the parking slot 3 sketched in Fig. 1 is possible. Those parking slots 3 are marked with crosses. For the parking slots 3 next to the garbage can 9 and / or the motorcycle 10, the method comprises considering the last stored slot orientation information 21 determined for the parking slot 3 on the right side of the pillar 8 as slot orientation information 21 . However, for all other parking slots 3 on the first edge 4 of the road 2, it is here possible to determine the slot orientation information 21 directly and storing it in the storage unit 20.

[0074] There are multiple situations in which no distinct slot orientation information 21 may be determined for the parking slot 3. In an example, this may be the case if no object class information 25 is determined for at least one object adjacent to the parking slot 3 so that the parking slot 3 is adjacent to an unclassified object. This is the case for the parking slots 3 next to the garbage can 9 and the motorcycle 10. Alternatively or additionally, no distinct slot orientation information 21 may be determined for the parking slot 3 depending on a slot size information 29. The slot size information 29 describes a size of the parking slot 3. Here, the slot size information 29 may describe the width 13 and the length 14 of the respective parking slot 3. It is then verified, if the determined slot size information 29 is in a first slot size range 30 for a parallel parking slot 6 and / or in a second slot size range 2023PF02029

[0075] 13

[0076] 31 for a transverse parking slot 7. If the determined slot size information 29 is in both the first slot size range 30 and the second slot size range 31 , no distinct slot orientation information 21 is determined for the parking slot 3 and hence the last determined slot orientation information 21 is considered for this parking slot 3.

[0077] The slot size ranges 30, 31 may depend on a length 14 and / or width 13 of the vehicle 1 that performs the inventive method. Alternatively or additionally, the slot size ranges 30, 31 may be predefined and independent of the vehicle 1 .

[0078] The method may comprise the following steps S4 to S6 performed for each occupied parking slot 3 and hence for each parking slot 3 with one of the parked vehicles 12. In step S4, the method may comprise determining a parking orientation information 32 that describes an orientation of the parked vehicle 12 that is parked in the occupied parking slot 3. The parking orientation information 32 may be determined by applying a parking orientation determining algorithm 33 on the sensor information 23 describing at least a part of the environment of the vehicle 1 that comprises at least a part of the parked vehicle 12. This may be the same sensor information 23 as the ones described above or may at least partially differ from at least one of the above-described sensor information 23.

[0079] In a step S5, the determined parking orientation information 32 may be stored in the storage unit 20. In a step S6, the stored parking orientation information 32 may be provided to the parking function 28. If the at least one parking slot 3 for which no distinct slot orientation information 21 is determined is an unoccupied parking slot 3, the last stored parking orientation information 32 is assigned to this parking slot 3 and provided to the parking function 28. This means that the last stored parking orientation information 32 may be considered as the parking orientation information 32 for this parking slot 3.

[0080] The parking orientation information 32 may differentiate at least between a parallel parked vehicle 12 and a transversely parked vehicle 12. Alternatively or additionally, the parking orientation information 32 may differentiate at least between the parked forward orientation 15 and the parked backward orientation 16. The sensor information 23 used to determine the parking orientation information 32 may comprise at least one camera image captured by the front camera 50.

[0081] The parking function 28 may analyze the provided slot orientation information 21 and / or parking orientation information 32 for the respective unoccupied parking slot 3 to determine a parking trajectory 34 to a parking position in the parking slot 3 for the vehicle 1 . Then, it may display the determined parking trajectory 34 on a display device for a driver of the vehicle 1 . Alternatively or additionally, the parking function 28 maybe configured for at least semiautomatic, in particular fully automatic parking, so that, for example a longitudinal and / or a transversal guidance of the vehicle 1 is performed according to the determined parking trajectory 34. In this case, the control device 19 may be able to control a brake system, a drive system and / or a steering system of the vehicle 1 based on control commands of the parking function 28.

[0082] Fig. 3 shows two situations in which the stored slot orientation information 21 and / or the stored parking orientation information 32 may be discarded. They may be, for example, deleted from the storage unit 20 and are overwritten by new data. The discarded slot 2023PF02029

[0083] 14 orientation information 21 and / or parking orientation information 32 are not further used when performing the method.

[0084] The method may comprise determining a distance information 38 that describes a distance 37 between the last detected parking slot 35 for which the determined slot orientation information 21 and / or parking orientation information 32 is stored in the storage unit 20 on the one hand and a currently considered parking slot 3 which is the next parking slot 36 along the driving path 18 on the other hand. It may then be verified if the distance information 38 is larger than a predetermined distance threshold 39. The predetermined distance threshold 39 may be 20 meters. If this is the case, meaning that if the distance information 38 is larger than the predetermined distance threshold 39, the stored slot orientation information 21 which was detected for the last detected parking slot 35, and / or the stored parking orientation information 32 which was detected for the last detected parking slot 35 are discarded and hence no longer used. If the distance information 38 is smaller than or equal the predetermined distance threshold 39, the method may continue as described above, meaning that the last stored orientation information 21 and / or parking orientation information 32 may be considered for the next parking slot 36. The next parking slot 36 is the currently considered parking slot 3.

[0085] Alternatively or additionally, the method may comprise determining an angle information 41 describing a steering angle of the vehicle 1 . The steering angle describes here a curve

[0086] 40 on the driving path 18. Here, the curve 40 is located between the last detected parking slot 35 for which, for example, the slot orientation information 21 and / or the parking orientation information 32 was stored in the storage unit 20, and the next parking slot 36 which is the currently considered parking slot 3. It is then verified if the angle information

[0087] 41 is larger than a predetermined angle threshold 42. The predetermined angle threshold

[0088] 42 may be 75 degrees. If this is the case, the stored slot orientation information 21 and / or the stored parking orientation information 32 are discarded and hence are no longer considered. However, if the angle information 41 is smaller than or equal to the angle threshold 42, the method may continue as described above so that the last stored slot orientation information 21 and / or parking orientation information 32 may be considered or assigned to a parking slot 3. The curve 40 indicates a change in road 2 so that details on slot orientation and / or parking orientation may no longer be valid for the new slot 36.

[0089] In general, it may be assumed that if the road 2 on which the vehicle 1 is located has parking slots 3 on both opposite edges 4, 5 of the road 2, the stored orientation information 21 and / or parking orientation information 32 are determined and stored for each edge 4, 5 of the road 2 individually.

[0090] In summary, the invention shows how to consider parking slot’s limiting objects and neighboring slots for parking alignment. The vehicle 1 is driving along the road 2 and detects parking slots 3 as well as parked vehicles 12, for example, by means of computer vision. The vehicle 1 determines the orientation of the parking slots 3 (slot orientation information 21) and the orientation of the parked vehicles 12 (parking orientation information 32), for example, also by means of computer vision. When the vehicle 1 detects a parking slot 3 rendered by at least one undefined object and / or unclassified object, such as trees or bushes, it may assign the orientation of the parking slots 3 detected before and hence the last stored slot orientation information 21 and / or parking orientation information 32. 2023PF02029

[0091] 15

[0092] Automated parking systems cannot decide a parking slot alignment (parallel or perpendicular) in some cases. Therefore, a two-layer algorithm is used. First, it tries to deduce the slot alignment and hence the slot orientation information 21 based on limiting vehicle objects of the parking slot 3 which are here based on the object information 24 and / or the object class information 25. If this fails, it is possible to copy the same alignment as the previously found parking slot 3 by considering and / or assigning the stored slot orientation information 21 and / or parking orientation information 32.

Claims

2023PF0202916Claims1 . Method to operate a parking function (28) for a vehicle (1 ), wherein the vehicle (1 ) is driving past multiple parking slots (3) and the method comprises for each parking slot (3):- determining (S1) a slot orientation information (21 ) describing if the parking slot (3) is intended for parallel or transverse parking by applying a slot orientation determining algorithm (22);- storing (S2) the determined slot orientation information (21) in a storage unit (20) of the vehicle (1); and- providing (S3) the stored slot orientation information (21) to the parking function (28); wherein if no distinct slot orientation information (21) is determined for at least one of the parking slots (3), the last stored slot orientation information (21) is considered as the determined slot orientation information (21 ) for this at least one parking slot (3) and provided to the parking function (28).

2. Method according to claim 1 , wherein to determine the respective slot orientation information (21) the slot orientation determining algorithm (22) is applied on a sensor information (23) describing at least a part of an environment of thevehicle (1) that comprises at least a part of the respective parking slot (3).

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the method comprises:- determining an object information (24) describing at least one object adjacent to at least one of the parking slots (3) by applying an object determining algorithm (26) on a sensor information (23) describing at least a part of the object;- determining an object class information (25) describing a class of the at least one object by applying an object classification algorithm (27) on the determined object information (24); and- applying the slot orientation determining algorithm (22) on the determined object information (24) and object class information (25) to determine the slot orientation information (21).2023PF02029174. Method according to claim 3, wherein if no object class information (25) is determined for at least one object so that one of the parking slots (3) is adjacent to an unclassified object, no distinct slot orientation information (21 ) is determined for this parking slot (3).

5. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises for each parking slot (3):- determining a slot size information (29) describing a size of the parking slot (3); -verifying if the determined slot size information (29) is in a first slot size range (30) for a parallel parking slot (6) and / or in a second slot size range (31) fora transverse parking slot (7); and- if the determined slot size information (29) is in both the first slot size range (30) and the second slot size range (31) no distinct slot orientation information (21 ) is determined for the parking slot (3).

6. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises for each parking slot (3) than is occupied by a parked vehicle (12):- determining (S4) a parking orientation information (32) describing an orientation of a parked vehicle (12) that is parked in the occupied parking slot (3) by applying a parking orientation determining algorithm (33) on a sensor information (23) describing at least a part of an environment of the vehicle (1 ) that comprises at least a part of the parked vehicle (12);- storing (S5) the determined parking orientation information (32) in the storage unit (20); and- providing (S6) the stored parking orientation information (32) to the parking function (28).

7. Method according to claim 6, wherein if the at least one parking slot (3) for which no distinct slot orientation information (21 ) is determined is an unoccupied parking slot (3), the last stored parking orientation information (32) is assigned to this parking slot (3) and provided to the parking function (28).

8. Method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the parking orientation information (32) at least differentiates between a parked forward orientation (15) and aparked backward orientation (16).2023PF02029189. Method according to any one of the preceding claims in their back references to claim 1 and / or claim 6, wherein the parking function (28) analyzes the provided slot orientation information (21 ) and / or parking orientation information (32) forthe respective unoccupied parking slot (3) to determine a parking trajectory to a parking position in this parking slot (3).

10. Method according to any one of the preceding claims in their back references to claim 1 and / or claim 6, wherein the method comprises:- determining a distance information (38) describing a distance (37) between the parking slot (3) for which the determined slot orientation information (21 ) and / or parking orientation information (32) is stored on one hand and a currently considered parking slot (3) on the other hand;-verifying if the distance information (38) is larger than a predetermined distance threshold (39); and- if this is the case, discarding the stored slot orientation information (21 ) and / or parking orientation information (32).11 . Method according to any one of the preceding claims in their back references to claim 1 and / or claim 6, wherein the method comprises:- determining an angle information (40) describing a steering angle of the vehicle (1);-verifying if the angle information (40) is larger than a predetermined angle threshold (41 ); and- if this is the case, discarding the stored slot orientation information (21) and / or parking orientation information (32).

12. Method according to any one of the preceding claims in their back references to claim 1 and / or claim 6, wherein if a road (2) on which the vehicle (1) is located has parking slots (3) an two opposite edges (4, 5) of the road (2), the slot orientation information (21) and / or parking orientation information (32) is determined and stored for each edge (4, 5) of the road (2) individually.

13. Control device (19) for a vehicle (1 ) configured to perform a method according to any one of the preceding claims.2023PF020291914. Vehicle (1) configured to perform a method according to any one of the claims 1 to 12.

15. Computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry a method according to any one of the claims 1 to 12.

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