Occupant-Aware Parking Control for Faster Remote Vehicle Parking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing parking control systems do not effectively differentiate between parking scenarios where an occupant is present inside the vehicle interior and those where no occupant is present, leading to suboptimal parking control strategies.

Innovation Solution

The system determines the presence or absence of an occupant inside the vehicle and adjusts the parking control parameters accordingly, such as calculating a parking route with a larger curvature when no occupant is present to shorten the parking operation time.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a standard parking control strategy is used regardless of occupant presence, then the system is simple to operate, but the parking operation time cannot be optimized for different scenarios

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveparking operation timeVSAvoidcontrol system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The parking control system dynamically adjusts control parameters based on real-time detection of occupant presence. When an occupant is detected, the system applies a first control strategy with smoother vehicle behavior; when no occupant is present, it applies a second control strategy that prioritizes faster parking completion. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the system complexity only as high as needed to achieve optimization.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes control parameters such as vehicle speed, steering angle, and acceleration profiles based on occupant presence detection. By modifying these parameters according to the detected scenario, the system achieves optimized parking operation time without requiring fundamentally different hardware or complex control architectures, thus balancing productivity improvement with acceptable system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If the vehicle behavior is emphasized (larger curvature, faster speed) to shorten parking time, then the parking operation time is reduced, but the parking process becomes less smooth when an occupant is present

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveparking operation timeVSAvoidparking smoothness
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different control strategies tailored to specific local conditions - namely, whether an occupant is present in the vehicle. When an occupant is detected, the control strategy prioritizes smooth vehicle behavior with smaller curvature changes and gentler acceleration. When no occupant is present, the strategy shifts to emphasize vehicle behavior for faster parking. This local quality approach ensures optimal performance for each specific scenario.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The control system dynamically switches between two distinct control strategies based on real-time occupant detection. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize parking speed when the vehicle is unoccupied while maintaining smooth, comfortable operation when occupants are present, effectively resolving the contradiction between speed and smoothness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Productivity

If the vehicle behavior is emphasized with larger curvature and faster speed, then the parking operation time is shortened, but the safety margin is reduced when no occupant is present

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveparking operation timeVSAvoidsafety margin
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes control parameters including vehicle speed, steering curvature, and acceleration profiles based on occupant presence. When no occupant is present, the system safely increases these parameters to shorten parking time. When an occupant is detected, the parameters are adjusted to maintain larger safety margins. This conditional parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction by making safety margins adaptive to the operational context.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The control strategy dynamically adapts safety margins based on real-time detection of occupant presence. The system maintains conservative, safety-focused control when occupants are present and transitions to more aggressive, time-efficient control when the vehicle is unoccupied. This dynamic safety margin adjustment allows the system to optimize parking speed without compromising safety in occupied vehicles.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3895947B1Parking control method and parking control device
Publication Date: 2025.01.22 NISSAN MOTOR CO LTD
  • EP3895947B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3895947B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3895947B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A parking control apparatus (100) includes an input device (20) configured to acquire an operation command configured from inside or outside of a vehicle and a control device (10) configured to control the vehicle in accordance with the operation command. The control device (10) is configured to make a determination whether or not an occupant is present inside a vehicle interior of the vehicle and control the vehicle to park in accordance with a result of the determination.