Parking Assist System Overhead Guidance for Start Position

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional vehicle parking assist systems do not adequately assist inexperienced drivers by not providing clear guidance on the initial parking start position and steering direction to reach a target parking position without performing steering operations during parking.

Innovation Solution

The system displays a recommended parking start position on an overhead image, with a parking start frame that adjusts based on the vehicle's steering angle, and includes a direction indicator icon to guide the steering operation from the start position to the target position.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If the system only displays the path from current position to target parking position, then the driver can recognize the parking path, but the driver cannot recognize from which position to start parking without steering operation

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveParking start position informationVSAvoidParking guidance clarity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system calculates and displays the recommended parking start position in advance before the driver begins the parking maneuver. This allows the driver to know the exact position where they should start moving the vehicle backward without needing to perform steering operations during the initial phase of parking

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The parking guidance is divided into distinct segments: the parking start position frame figure indicates where to begin, the parking path figure shows the trajectory, and the target parking position indicates the final destination. This segmentation provides clear, step-by-step guidance for different phases of the parking operation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Ease of operation

If the system provides detailed parking guidance information, then inexperienced drivers receive adequate assistance, but the display system becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveParking assistance qualityVSAvoidDisplay system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses an overhead bird's-eye view display dimension to show parking guidance information. This top-down perspective allows multiple pieces of information (start position, path, target position, vehicle orientation) to be displayed simultaneously in a compact and intuitive manner without increasing physical display complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates a virtual overhead image that copies and represents the real-world parking environment. This virtual model includes symbolic representations of the vehicle, parking frames, and guidance paths, allowing complex spatial relationships to be displayed clearly without requiring complex physical display mechanisms

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP2265482B1Vehicle parking assist system and method
Publication Date: 2016.02.10 NISSAN MOTOR CO LTD
  • EP2265482B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2265482B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP2265482B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

Upon a driver of a vehicle setting a target parking position, a parking assist system calculates a recommended parking start position which the vehicle can reach with a current steering angle of the vehicle unchanged and from which the vehicle can reach the parking target position with a constant steering angle. The parking assist system then draws a parking start frame figure F2 indicating a recommended parking start position on an overhead image around the vehicle generated using images captured by onboard cameras and displays the same on the display unit. It is therefore possible to properly assist the driving operation for parking to allow inexperienced drivers to easily perform parking.