DE102017123227A1 - Method for parking a vehicle in a parking lot - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for parking a vehicle (10) in a parking lot (16), the method comprising the steps of: a) detecting a possible parking space (16) for the vehicle (10), and b) parking the vehicle ( 10) in the parking lot (16), wherein c) the vehicle (10) is parked based on a particular park orientation, and d) the park orientation based on at least one parameter under a vehicle configuration, environmental conditions and an earlier parking behavior of a driver of the vehicle (10 ) is determined.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for parking a vehicle in a parking lot. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of parking a vehicle in a parking lot that provides improved comfort to a driver of the vehicle and also allows for reduced energy consumption. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a driver assistance system designed to carry out such a method. Moreover, the present invention relates to a vehicle having such a driver assistance system.

Assisted parking is an important feature of modern vehicles. Various driver assistance systems are known that provide assistance to a driver in the event that a vehicle is to be parked in a parking lot. Parking related driver assistance systems may include such systems providing information about distances to obstacles that may be on or near a parking lot, systems for automatically detecting a free parking space, systems for determining an optimal trajectory for a parking operation, and such provide a fully automatic parking process.

Such driver assistance systems are well known and can provide substantial assistance to drivers of vehicles, as most driver assistance systems operate reliably and improve parking, which is often perceived as difficult.

With regard to driver assistance systems, for example, describes the DE 10 2014 001 554 A1 a method for autonomously parking a vehicle on a parking area with a plurality of parking spaces, wherein at least one environment information is provided and the parking spaces are evaluated based on the environment information.

Furthermore, the describes DE 10 2015 200 492 A1 a method for determining a parking position for a vehicle. Such a method includes a step of requesting a destination position and time for a parking operation, determining parking lots in the vicinity of the target position, calculating a temperature generated at each parking space in the interior of the vehicle, and selecting a particular parking lot as a parking position.

However, the above-described prior art still leaves room for improvement. In particular, the methods described above provide scope for improvements in the comfort of a driver of a vehicle and / or energy consumption.

Based on the above-mentioned prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for parking a vehicle in a parking lot, a driver assistance system for carrying out the method of parking a vehicle in a parking lot, and also a vehicle that enables parking and the comfort of a driver is improved and / or energy saving.

The solution of this object is achieved by a method for parking a vehicle in a parking lot with the features of claim 1. The solution of this task is further carried out by a driver assistance system with the features of claim 9. Furthermore, the solution of this object is achieved by a vehicle having the features of claim 10. Advantageous embodiments are specified in the subclaims, the further description and in the figures, wherein further embodiments or features alone or in any combination may form part of the invention, insofar as this is not expressly excluded.

1. a) Erfassen eines möglichen Parkplatzes für das Fahrzeug; und
2. b) Parken des Fahrzeugs auf dem Parkplatz, wobei
3. c) das Fahrzeug basierend auf einer bestimmten Parkausrichtung geparkt wird, und
4. d) die Parkausrichtung basierend auf mindestens einem Parameter unter Umgebungsbedingungen, der Fahrzeugkonfiguration und einem früheren Parkverhalten eines Fahrers des Fahrzeugs bestimmt wird.

The present invention provides a method of parking a vehicle in a parking lot, the method comprising the steps of:

1. a) detecting a possible parking space for the vehicle; and
2. b) Parking the vehicle in the parking lot, taking
3. c) the vehicle is parked based on a particular park orientation, and
4. d) the parking orientation is determined based on at least one parameter under ambient conditions, the vehicle configuration, and a previous parking behavior of a driver of the vehicle.

By a described method, an improved parking operation of a vehicle is provided in a parking lot, in particular with regard to an autonomous parking operation. In particular, an improved comfort for the driver of the vehicle is provided by a method as described above, the method further being suitable for reducing the energy consumption of the vehicle, as described in more detail below.

The described method relates to a method for parking a vehicle in a parking lot. Therefore, this method may generally relate to any vehicle, but may be illustrative of cars as vehicles. Continue to park on According to the invention, a parking space may in particular mean that the vehicle is parked in a predetermined parking space, such as a parking space marked on the ground. However, it is not excluded from the present invention that the term parking generally refers to any place that may or may not be marked that is usable for parking a car.

The described method has in particular the following steps.

According to a method step a), the present method comprises the detection of a possible parking space for the vehicle. In this regard, and as mentioned above, in general, each parking space may be detected, in particular, by a driver assistance system of the vehicle to be parked in the parking lot.

With regard to the detection of a possible parking space, such a step is not generally restricted and as such may be carried out as known in the art. In this regard, it may be contemplated that the step of detecting a potential parking lot includes monitoring the environment by at least one environmental sensor. The environment sensor may preferably be part of a driver assistance system that also controls the parking process, or at least one environment sensor of another driver assistance system that is connected to the driver assistance system, which also controls the parking process. The at least one environmental sensor may be, for example, any suitable conventional sensor. In addition, only one or more different or the same individual sensors may be used to monitor the environment, thus forming a sensor array of more than one environmental sensor.

The at least one environmental sensor may, for example, comprise or consist of one or more identical or different sensors of the group consisting of ultrasonic sensors, cameras, lidar-based sensors, in particular laser scanners, radar sensors or other sensors known in the art for monitoring the surroundings of the vehicle to be parked to find a possible parking space.

It can preferably be provided that the information determined by the at least one environmental sensor is combined with information about the current position of the vehicle, for example using a navigation system, in order to determine a possible parking position. In this case, existing parking spaces can be identified by the information of the navigation system and the current position of the vehicle. Once parking is completed in a general manner, the respective parking lot (s) may preferably be monitored for availability by the at least one environmental sensor. Alternatively, the at least one environmental sensor can directly monitor the environment and detect possible parking spaces.

In particular, the at least one environmental sensor can detect whether the detected parking spaces are available. This may include detecting whether a vehicle is parked in the parking lot or if there is an obstacle affecting the usability of the parking lot.

If the general provision of parking is detected, and if the availability of the one or more parking lots is secured, step a) may be completed.

But it can also be evaluated whether the determined parking space has dimensions that are large enough or comfortable for the vehicle to be parked. This can be achieved, for example, by comparing the particular dimensions of the parking lot with information about the dimensions of the vehicle to be parked, e.g. each with stored information about the height, length and width of the vehicle. This allows the determination of possible parking spaces additionally based on the size of the vehicle.

Therefore, according to step a) of the described method, a possible parking space is determined, which is usable for parking the car.

According to the following method step b), the method comprises the step of parking the vehicle in the parking lot. In other words, if a possible parking space has been detected and therefore, in the event that a parking space is available which is particularly large enough for the vehicle to be parked, the vehicle is parked in the parking lot. In this regard, according to this step, a completely autonomous parking operation can follow, in which the vehicle can be parked by the driver assistance system without a steering intervention by the driver of the vehicle. Alternatively, a supported parking operation may take place in which the driver assistance system provides driving information to the driver of the vehicle.

With regard to parking the vehicle on the detected parking lot, it is provided according to step c) that the vehicle is parked based on a specific parking orientation. Accordingly, the present method does not determine only possible parking spaces to assist the driver in the search for parking spaces and the parking of the vehicle, but also and beyond the conventional methods, the method according to the invention provides the additional feature that the parking operation is based on a particular parking orientation.

In this regard, it is not always intended to use the car, e.g. Parking first in the parking lot with the front side first or with the back side first. Rather, the preferred orientation of the vehicle in the parking lot is determined, in particular, with reference to the circumstances of the present parking operation, and the vehicle is parked according to this preferred orientation. In this regard, it may in particular be provided that the vehicle is parked in accordance with a new orientation determined for each parking operation.

In particular, the parking orientation of the invention designates the compass direction in which the vehicle is parked, i. in which compass direction the vehicle is parked with the front side or the rear side.

With regard to the preferred orientation and according to method step d), it is provided that the parking orientation is determined based on at least one parameter under a vehicle configuration, environmental conditions and an earlier parking behavior of a driver of the vehicle. Therefore, the driver's past and especially stored parking behavior, vehicle configuration, and / or environmental conditions may be used to determine the preferred park orientation. In this case, it may be provided that the preferred parking orientation is based on all parameters under the vehicle configuration, the environmental conditions and the previous parking behavior of a driver of the vehicle or only on the environmental conditions or only on the previous parking behavior of a driver or only on the vehicle configuration. Alternatively, a defined plurality of these parameters can be used. Further, based on a prioritization scheme, it may be determined which higher priority information is used, as described in detail below.

In particular, taking into account the park alignment described above, significant advantages over the solutions of the prior art can be achieved.

In detail and with reference to the driver's past and thus usual parking behavior, which is determined by the driver's previous parking behavior of the vehicle, e.g. based on previous parking operations stored in the driver assistance system, the parking scenario may be determined with respect to park orientation, i.e., whether the vehicle is parked front-facing or back-first.

For example, if the driver tends to park the vehicle first with the front side, this park orientation may be used for the present parking operation. On the other hand, if the driver tends to park the vehicle with the rear side first, this parking orientation may be used for the present parking operation.

With regard to the stored information, it may be provided that the driver assistance system used for parking the car or another driver assistance system can store different parking profiles that are used for different drivers. This allows each driver of a plurality of drivers who use the vehicle uses his own profile and thus always provides the vehicle the desired park orientation.

This actually leads to a significant increase in comfort, since the parking operation is always carried out as it is preferred for the driver of the vehicle.

Further, in terms of vehicle configuration and environmental conditions, the parking operation, and in particular the parking orientation, may be selected according to a variety of factors, as described in detail below.

In general, the parking orientation may be selected with reference to the vehicle configuration and thus to the specific design of the vehicle, such that, for example, large cars, which often should not be parked with the rear side first, are automatically parked with the front side first. Alternatively, if the vehicle is, for example, an electrically powered vehicle whose charger is on the front side, it may be preferable to park the vehicle first with the front side to easily perform a charging operation.

Apart from the above and the environmental conditions, the latter method can be used in particular for carrying out the method such that a considerable energy saving can be achieved. In this regard, for example, when vehicles are parked in different orientations, it may happen that the car is heated differently due to solar radiation. Strong solar heating may be desirable in winter, so compared with the vehicle warmer conditions, which on the one hand increases the comfort of the driver and on the other hand improves energy consumption because the heating system has to heat up the vehicle less. On the other hand, it can be undesirable in the summer when the sun's rays heat the car. Therefore, due to a change in orientation, the heating of the vehicle can be reduced. This, in turn, can increase driver comfort and, on the other hand, improve energy consumption because the cooling system must cool the vehicle less.

However, these are only examples that show that by providing a method according to the invention and in particular by providing a specific parking orientation for each parking step considerable advantages in terms of driver comfort and energy consumption can be achieved. In fact, the heating behavior of the vehicle can be influenced in a rather broad way by the park orientation, which in turn can increase comfort and reduce energy consumption in different ways.

This demonstrates the advantage over conventional methods as automated parking methods that do not take into account the position of the sun and other environmental conditions or the driver's past behavior or vehicle configuration in order to park a vehicle, such as a car capture or select in order to minimize energy consumption and to maximize the comfort of the users of the vehicle.

In this regard, it may be particularly preferred that step d) be performed based on at least one parameter among possible driver's goals, architectural environment, current time, possible parking duration and weather conditions, the method being by no means limited to these parameters is. All these conditions can influence the parking behavior and thus the specific parking orientation. Therefore, it may be provided that the method is based on one, several or all of the parameters defined above, in particular according to a prioritization described below.

With regard to the possible objectives of the driver, provision may be made for taking into account buildings or locations that are stored in a navigation system and present in the environment. For example, if the potential parking lot is at a supermarket, the method may decide to park the vehicle with the front side first to allow free access to the luggage space.

Further, if the possible parking lot is near the home location, the parking registration may be e.g. based on the conditions of the vehicle, for example, when the vehicle is an electrically powered vehicle. In this case, if a possible parking space is available directly at the home location, the vehicle can be parked with the front side first, if the car has an electrical connection at the front for charging batteries. Further, the vehicle may be parked with the front side first, if the vehicle was previously at a supermarket, so that free access to the luggage compartment is made possible so that the driver can unload the car.

Furthermore, with respect to the architectural environment, it may be considered that large buildings or other objects may cast shadows for at least a limited amount of time. In this regard, the vehicle may be parked so as to take into account the shadow that blocks solar radiation.

Weather conditions can include the current temperature and the amount of sunshine. By combining the temperature and solar radiation, it can be determined whether the car is parked in the sun or out of the sun, as described in detail below. In order to detect the ambient temperature and the solar radiation, the driver assistance system executing the method may have respective sensors, or a weather forecast may be taken into account, which is easily possible for example by providing a connection to the Internet.

With regard to the current time and the possible parking duration, provision may be made for the most advantageous parking orientation to be provided at the end of the parking time, in accordance with which the driver's comfort and the energy saving are particularly effectively improved.

However, it may be particularly preferred if the method is based on a combination of the conditions described above. Therefore, it will be appreciated that several scenarios may be considered that may be used to determine the preferred park orientation.

It can be provided that desired scenarios can be entered into the driver assistance system, so that the driver can influence the preferred parking orientation, which thus offers the driver of the vehicle a particularly effectively improved comfort. Accordingly, it can be provided that the method is carried out by a learning driver assistance system.

It may be particularly advantageous if step d) is performed on the basis of the position of the sun and the ambient temperature at a given time. In particular, according to this embodiment, the above-described improvements in comfort and power consumption can be achieved.

In this regard, for example, when cars are parked in different orientations, it may happen that the car is heated differently by solar radiation. This may be desirable in winter, so that the vehicle is warmer compared to the ambient conditions, which on the one hand increases the comfort of the driver and on the other hand improves energy consumption, since the heating system must heat the vehicle less. On the other hand, it can be undesirable in the summer when the vehicle is heated by solar radiation. Therefore, by changing the orientation of the heating of the car can be reduced. This, in turn, can increase the driver's comfort and, on the other hand, improve energy consumption as the cooling system has to cool the vehicle less.

In view of the above, it may be preferable, for example, if step c) is carried out such that a front side and thus a windshield of the vehicle faces the sun at a predetermined time. In this regard, it may be provided that, for example, in winter and at temperatures below freezing, solar radiation may be used to heat the vehicle, as described above, which may be particularly effective when solar radiation is directed to the front. Therefore, the predetermined time may be, for example, the time at which step c) is executed. Furthermore, the solar radiation can be used, for example, to thaw the windshield. This can be particularly effective if the sunlight in the morning on the front and thus acts on the windshield. Therefore, the parking orientation can be selected such that the respective orientation at the morning hours is obtained as the predetermined time. The predetermined time used may be selected by the driver of the vehicle or may be determined by the driver assistance system as such based on an appropriate algorithm. For example, the predetermined time may be determined based on the specific parking space and the specific time of the parking operation. For example, if the car park is at a home location, and in the evenings, it is likely that parking will take until the next morning.

In this regard, it may be contemplated that the driver assistance system may include a controller that includes stored information about the position of the sun at particular times and may calculate the required orientation for the vehicle at the predetermined time.

Alternatively, it may be preferred if step c) is carried out such that a front side of the vehicle is turned away from the sun at a predetermined time. Accordingly, the heating of the car can be reduced in particular, since in particular when the windscreen is directed to the sun, the passenger compartment of the vehicle can heat up strongly. However, if the front and thus the windshield are facing away from the sun, at least the dashboard and the front seats of the vehicle can at least be exposed to sunlight, so that at least the area of the vehicle in which the driver is staying , is heated less, resulting in improved comfort.

It may also be preferred if the method has the further method step e) according to which a parking space used for step b) is selected from a plurality of possible parking spaces determined according to step a) in accordance with the orientation of the plurality of detected possible parking spaces. According to this embodiment, the energy saving as well as the comfort of a driver of the vehicle can be improved particularly effectively. This is mainly due to the fact that the orientation of the vehicle is chosen in a parking operation not only for a particular parking lot, but also the used parking space is chosen as such. In this regard, it may be provided that some possible parking spaces are aligned so that a preferred orientation of the vehicle can be realized, while other parking lots do not have the respective orientation. For example, if a possible parking space is arranged such that the vehicle can not be oriented so that the front side faces the sun or faces away from the sun at a given time, as described above, but this is possible using another possible parking space , the parking space is selected, which allows the appropriate orientation. This can be achieved, for example, on large parking areas in which different parking lots have different orientations. Furthermore, this can be realized if no specific parking spaces are marked on the floor, but a parking area provides different orientations of the vehicle and thus parking spaces with different orientations, which are freely selectable.

Further, when the orientation of the parking lot is selected, the position of the parking lot may be selected as such, for example, near an entrance of a supermarket or near a home location.

For example, and with reference to the examples described above, it may be provided that the car is parked in a parking lot that is oriented such that the front faces the sun at a given time or faces away from the sun at a given time.

In accordance with the foregoing, it will be appreciated that it is particularly preferred that, in step e), the parking space be selected based on the amount of solar radiation applied to the plurality of parking spaces at a given time.

Furthermore, it can be provided that step d) is carried out based on a prioritization method. According to this embodiment, it may be provided, for example, that a driver of the vehicle has indicated that the parking orientation is more important in comparison with other influences according to its earlier and thus usual procedure. This may be advantageous, for example, when mild temperatures occur, so that an extreme heating of the vehicle is not to be expected and a heating of the vehicle is not absolutely necessary. However, if extreme temperatures occur and thus extreme heating of the vehicle is expected and this warming of the vehicle is desired, the weather conditions may be given a higher priority over the driver's previous behavior. Apart from the above-mentioned situation, if the vehicle is an electrically powered vehicle and the batteries need to be recharged and therefore the vehicle must first be parked with its front side in order to allow charging, this parameter may be higher in comparison to the other parameters Priority will be assigned. However, the prioritization described above should be considered as an example only. There can be a variety of possible prioritization procedures that professionals might consider.

With regard to further technical features and advantages of the method described above, reference is made to the description of the driver assistance system and the vehicle and vice versa.

Part of the invention is further a driver assistance system for supporting a parking operation of a vehicle, wherein the driver assistance system has at least one environment sensor for detecting a possible parking space and a control unit, wherein the control unit is adapted to a parking orientation of the vehicle in the parking lot based on at least one of the Vehicle configuration, the environmental conditions and a previous parking behavior of a driver of the vehicle to determine.

The driver assistance system may be part of a vehicle, such as a passenger car. The driver assistance system may in particular be provided for assisting a parking operation of a vehicle, as described in detail above.

In order to detect a possible parking space, the driver assistance system has at least one environment sensor. As mentioned above, the environmental sensor may preferably be part of the driver assistance system that also controls the parking process or another driver assistance system that is connected to the driver assistance system that controls the parking operation. The at least one environmental sensor may, for example, be any suitable sensor known in the art. Additionally, to monitor the environment, only one or more different or the same individual sensors may be used, forming a sensor array of one or more environmental sensors. The at least one environmental sensor may, for example, comprise or consist of one or more identical or different sensors selected from the group consisting of ultrasonic sensors, cameras, lidar-based sensors, in particular laser scanners, radar sensors or other sensors that are suitable for monitoring in the field the environment of the parked vehicle for finding a possible parking lot are known.

Furthermore, a control unit, such as a processor, is provided. The control unit is suitable for determining a parking orientation of the vehicle. This determination is based in particular on the information provided by the at least one environmental sensor and on further information provided. Examples of further information are environmental conditions, the vehicle configuration and an earlier parking behavior of a driver of the vehicle. In this regard, the controller may be provided with the respective information, and the controller may calculate an advantageous parking registration based on a suitable algorithm known in the art. In this case, further data can be taken into account, which can be stored in a memory which is part of the control unit, such as the dimensions of the vehicle, the Position of the sun at different times, an earlier driver behavior.

The result is thus a preferred park orientation and possibly a specifically selected parking space among several parking lots, which can then be used to assist a parking operation and in particular to carry out a completely autonomous parking operation.

Thus, by selecting a preferred park orientation of the vehicle as described above, the driver assistance system can provide improved comfort to the driver and improve energy consumption.

With regard to further technical features and advantages of the driver assistance system described above, reference is made to the description of the method and the vehicle and vice versa.

Part of the invention is further a vehicle with a driver assistance system for supporting a parking operation of the vehicle, characterized in that the driver assistance system is configured as described above.

With regard to the vehicle, it may be provided that, in particular, improved comfort can be achieved for the driver of the vehicle and / or improvements in terms of energy consumption can be achieved.

With regard to further technical features and advantages of the vehicle described above, reference is made to the description of the method and the driver assistance system and vice versa.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described below. Individual features illustrated in connection with the embodiments may, alone or in combination, form an aspect of the present invention. Features of the various embodiments may be transferred from one embodiment to another embodiment.

• 1 zeigt ein schematisches Parkszenario, das durch eine erste Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens erhalten wird;
• 2 zeigt ein schematisches Parkszenario, das durch eine weitere Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens erhalten wird;
• 3 zeigt ein schematisches Parkszenario, das durch eine weitere Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens erhalten wird;
• 4 zeigt das schematische Parkszenario der 2 und 3 in größerem Detail;
• 5 zeigt ein schematisches Parkszenario, das durch eine weitere Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens erhalten wird; und
• 6 zeigt eine schematische Darstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Fahrzeugs.

In the figures:

• 1 shows a schematic parking scenario, which is obtained by a first embodiment of the method according to the invention;
• 2 shows a schematic parking scenario, which is obtained by a further embodiment of the method according to the invention;
• 3 shows a schematic parking scenario, which is obtained by a further embodiment of the method according to the invention;
• 4 shows the schematic parking scenario of 2 and 3 in greater detail;
• 5 shows a schematic parking scenario, which is obtained by a further embodiment of the method according to the invention; and
• 6 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle according to the invention.

1 shows a schematic parking scenario, which is obtained by a first embodiment of the method according to the invention.

In detail, a car as a vehicle 10 considered, the vehicle 10 a front side 12 and a back 14 having. The vehicle 10 should be in a parking lot 16 parked. To achieve this, the vehicle points 10 a driver assistance system 18 designed for parking the vehicle 10 to support.

As in 6 is shown, the driver assistance system 18 of the vehicle 10 at least one environment sensor 20 for detecting a possible parking space 16 on. According to 6 are several environmental sensors 20 provided a front camera 22 , a rear camera 24 and ultrasonic sensors 26 exhibit. The environmental sensors 20 provide environmental information regarding the environment of the vehicle 10 ready. In particular, the environmental sensors can 20 possible parking spaces 16 determine such as those marked on the ground and in 1 are shown.

The driver assistance system 18 also has a control unit 28 on that with the environmental sensors 20 connected is. Furthermore, the control unit 28 be connected to a navigation system and have a memory in which various data can be stored. For example, data regarding the size of the vehicle 10 , Data on the position of the sun 30 be stored in memory at different times and more information. The control unit 28 and thus the driver assistance system 18 is suitable for a method described in more detail below.

In detail, the method for parking the vehicle 10 in a parking lot 16 First, the step to capture a possible parking space 16 for the vehicle 10 on. In this regard, as in 1 is shown, the possible parking 16 defined on the ground by appropriate lines. Therefore, the possible parking spaces 16 through the environmental sensors 20 as described above, since they are the environment of the vehicle 10 monitor. In addition to the general detection of possible parking spaces 16 by means of their geographical position, the environmental sensors can 20 capture if the parking 16 are available, that is, whether the parking 12 are occupied or whether they are by the vehicle 10 can be used.

Furthermore, the driver assistance system 18 evaluate whether the particular parking lot 16 Dimensions has, that for the vehicle to be parked 10 are big enough or comfortable. This can be realized, for example, by comparing the particular dimensions of the parking lot 16 with information regarding the dimensions of the vehicle to be parked 10 For example, each with stored information about the height, the length and the width of the vehicle 10 ,

According to the following step b), the driver assistance system 18 the vehicle 10 steer or give driving instructions to a driver about the vehicle 10 In the parking lot 16 to park. In other words, if possible parking 16 was recorded and thus in the event that the parking lot 16 available and especially large enough for the vehicle to be parked 10 is, the vehicle becomes 10 In the parking lot 16 parked. In this case, according to this step, a completely autonomous parking operation can follow, in which the vehicle 10 through the driver assistance system 18 without any steering intervention by the driver of the vehicle 10 can be parked. Alternatively, a supported parking operation can take place in which the driver assistance system 28 Driving information for the driver of the vehicle 10 displays.

Regarding the parking operation of the vehicle 10 on the detected parking lot is provided according to step c) that the vehicle 10 parked based on a particular park orientation.

With respect to the preferred orientation and according to step d), it is contemplated that the park alignment may be based on at least one parameter among a vehicle configuration, environmental conditions, and an earlier parking behavior of a driver of the vehicle 10 is determined.

According to the in 1 illustrated method, it is provided that the vehicle 10 with his back 14 First parked to achieve that one front 12 of the vehicle 10 at a given time, such as at the time of parking, the sun 30 is facing. This allows in particular that the radiation 32 the sun 30 the vehicle 10 can heat up. It may be provided that, for example, in winter, ie when temperatures below freezing occur, the radiation 32 for heating the vehicle 10 can be used, which can be particularly effective if the radiation 32 on the front 12 is directed. In particular, it can be provided that the sun 30 or their radiation 32 is used to prevent frost from appearing on the windshield. Further, when the parking operation is carried out in the evening hours, the vehicle can be allowed 10 is aligned such that the radiation 32 the sun 30 in the morning acts on the windshield. This allows the windshield through the radiation 32 the sun 30 be thawed. As a result, the heating of the vehicle 10 be activated to a lesser extent, which saves energy and in the case of the vehicle 10 thus saving fuel.

According to the in 2 illustrated embodiment, it may be provided that the front 12 of the vehicle 10 is arranged so that it faces away from the sun at a given time. This can be realized by the vehicle 10 during a parking operation is aligned such that it with its front 12 parked first. As a result, heating of the vehicle 10 can be reduced, in particular, when the windshield on the radiation 32 directed, the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10 is heated considerably. If the windshield from the sun 30 However, at least it can be achieved that the dashboard and the front seats of the vehicle 10 the radiation 32 be exposed to a lesser extent, leaving at least the area of the vehicle 10 in which the driver stays, less heated, which leads to improved comfort.

3 shows a further embodiment of a parking operation. It is provided that not only the orientation of the parked vehicle 10 is taken into account, but also the orientation of the parking 16 as such. That is, it is provided that the method further comprises a step e), according to which a parking space 16 from several optionally grouped possible parking spaces 16a . 16b according to the orientation of the several parking spaces 16a . 16b is selected. In this regard, it is specifically intended that the parking lot 16 based on the at a given time on the several parking lots 16a . 16b acting sunlight 32 is selected. This embodiment can also be achieved by the driver assistance system 18 be carried out that the radiation 32 the sun 30 can be considered together with the temperature at a given time by means of respective sensors, or the respective values can be determined for example by an online connection with a weather forecast service.

With regard to the above facts and provided that the radiation 32 the sun 30 on the various parking lots 16a and 16b is the same, it is intended that the driver assistance system 18 that determines the radiation 32 the sun 30 on the parking 16a . 16b so acts on the parking 16a from the rear while being independent of the vehicle's parking orientation 10 on the parking 16b radiates laterally. Therefore, the driver assistance system 18 determine that using the parking 16a the vehicle 10 can be aligned so that the sun 30 on the back 14 of the vehicle 10 irradiates. In other words, using the parking 16a can the vehicle 10 be aligned so that the front 12 turned away from the sun, which may be advantageous, as mentioned above. When using the parking 16b However, it can be calculated that it is not possible for the vehicle 10 Park with an orientation where the front 12 turned away from the sun. Therefore, the driver assistance system selects 18 along with determining a desired orientation for the vehicle 10 a parking lot 16 from several parking spaces 16a . 16b off to the desired orientation of the vehicle 10 to realize, in this case the parking lot 16a ,

However, the scenario described above is particularly true when heating the vehicle 10 through the radiation 32 the sun 30 should be avoided. If the radiation 32 the sun 30 to be used to heat the vehicle, for example in winter, the vehicle 10 be aligned in an opposite way.

This is in 4 shown in more detail where the vehicle 10 with his front 12 and his back 14 is shown. Here, the same parking operation as with respect 2 or 3 described executed. Therefore, the vehicle becomes 10 aligned during the parking process so that the radiation 32 the sun 30 over the back 14 of the vehicle to the vehicle 10 acts. This will affect the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10 reduces and in particular reduces the influence on the front seats, the windscreen and the dashboard. As mentioned above, this measure can already provide a significant improvement in the comfort of the driver of a vehicle 10 entail. In addition, the air conditioning can be operated with less power, which in turn energy and thus fuel the vehicle 10 saves.

5 shows another parking scenario. According to 5 becomes the architectural environment of the vehicle 10 considered. In this regard, the driver assistance system 18 capture that building 34 a shadow area 36 generated partly on parking 16c . 16d . 16e extends, leaving the parking 16c . 16d . 16e have different degrees of shading. This can be done through the driver assistance system 18 be determined by the building 34 near the parking 16 through the environmental sensors 20 captured and the radiation 32 the sun 30 and the compass directions are detected. Therefore, depending on the desired effects of the orientation of the parked vehicle 10 the parking lot 16c . 16d or 16e and especially the parking 16c or 16e to be selected.

For example, and with reference to the in 5 As shown, it may be desirable to heat the vehicle 10 through the radiation 32 the sun 30 to diminish. In this case, the parking lot 16e be used if the vehicle 10 oriented so that the front 12 from the sun 30 turned away as well as possible. This already affects the comfort of the driver of the vehicle 10 and the energy consumption.

When the parking lot 16c However, the vehicle can be used 10 completely or substantially completely in the shadow area 36 be parked, and the orientation of the vehicle 10 can be selected based on other parameters. As an example, if the driver of the vehicle 10 tends to the vehicle 10 first with the back 14 to park, this can be realized without problems, if the parking lot 16c is used.

However, the parking scenarios presented above are only examples. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other scenarios may be considered if the parking orientation is determined based on at least one parameter among a vehicle configuration, environmental conditions, and a previous parking behavior of a driver of the vehicle.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10

vehicle

12

front

14

back

16

parking spot

16a

parking spot

16b

parking spot

16c

parking spot

16d

parking spot

16e

parking spot

18

Driver assistance system

20

environment sensor

22

front camera

24

rear camera

26

ultrasonic sensor

28

control unit

30

Sun

32

radiation

34

building

36

shadow area

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 102014001554 A1 [0004]
• DE 102015200492 A1 [0005]

Claims (10)

A method of parking a vehicle (10) in a parking lot (16), the method comprising the steps of: a) detecting a possible parking space (16) for the vehicle (10); and b) parking the vehicle (10) in the parking lot (16), characterized in that c) the vehicle (10) is parked based on a particular park orientation, wherein d) the park orientation based on at least one of a vehicle configuration, environmental conditions, and an earlier parking behavior of a driver of the vehicle (10) is determined. Method according to Claim 1 characterized in that step d) is performed based on at least one of possible driver's goals, architectural environment, current time, possible parking duration, and weather conditions. Method according to Claim 2 characterized in that step d) is performed based on the position of the sun (30) and the ambient temperature at a predetermined time. Method according to Claim 3 characterized in that step c) is performed such that a front side (12) of the vehicle (10) faces the sun (30) at a predetermined time. Method according to Claim 3 , characterized in that step c) is carried out such that a front side (12) of the vehicle (10) at a predetermined time of the sun (30) facing away. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the method further comprises a step e), according to which a parking space (16) used for step b) consists of a plurality of possible parking spaces (16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, 16e), according to Step a) are determined according to the orientation of the plurality of parking lots (16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, 16e) is selected. Method according to Claim 6 characterized in that in step e) the parking lot (16) is selected based on the radiation (32) of the sun (30) irradiating the plurality of parking lots (16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, 16e) at a predetermined time , Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that step d) is carried out based on a prioritization method. Driver assistance system for supporting a parking operation of a vehicle (10), wherein the driver assistance system (18) at least one environment sensor (20) for detecting a possible parking space (16) and a control unit (28), characterized in that the control unit (28) is suitable is to determine a parking orientation of the vehicle (10) in the parking lot (16) based on at least one of the vehicle configuration, environmental conditions and a previous parking behavior of a driver of the vehicle (10). Vehicle having a driver assistance system (18) for supporting a parking operation of the vehicle (10), characterized in that the driver assistance system (18) according to Claim 9 is configured.

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