JP2018184126A - Parking support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a parking support device capable of proposing a parking track closer to human sense.SOLUTION: The parking support device comprises a target parking position setting part setting a target parking position P3 for parking a car 1, a left front sonar 91 and a right front sonar 92 detecting the presence of an obstacle in a predetermined area and a track making part for making ideal tracks L1 and L2 up to the target parking position P3 from a parking starting position P2 of the car 1 so as to avoid a predetermined display object displayed on an image based on the image input from an on-vehicle camera. The track making part does not consider a part positioned in an area A in which the left front sonar 91 and the right front sonar 92 detect that there is no obstacle among the predetermined display object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a parking support device that supports a driver's parking operation.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, parking assistance devices that support a driver's parking operation have been developed. The parking assist device creates an ideal trajectory from the current position of the vehicle to the target parking position for parking. And a driver | operator's parking operation is supported so that a vehicle may advance the said track | orbit. Various methods of creating an ideal trajectory have been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a trajectory planning method of a two-circle trajectory model in which a circle is drawn on each side of a vehicle at a start position and a parking target position, and a target trajectory is created from these circumferences and tangents. .

  When creating a track for parking, it is necessary to create a track that avoids obstacles. In the parking lot, for example, a plurality of parking frames separated by white lines are provided, and there is a parking frame next to the parking frame set as the target parking position. Since there is a possibility that another car is parked in this adjacent parking frame, in order to prevent contact with this car, the white line of the adjacent parking frame is recognized as an obstacle and is not stepped on. A trajectory like this is created.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining conventional parking assistance, and shows an example of a trajectory for preventing a white line of an adjacent parking frame from being stepped on. FIG. 6 shows an ideal trajectory L1 from the turn-back position P4 to the target parking position P3. The track L1 is created so as not to step on the white line K of the parking frame adjacent to the parking frame at the target parking position P3.

Patent No. 5595186

  As shown in FIG. 6, in order not to step on the white line K of the adjacent parking frame, when the vehicle 1 enters the parking frame of the target parking position P3 along the track L1, the direction of the vehicle body is set to the white line K. (Refer to the car 1 indicated by the broken line at the point P5). For this reason, it is necessary to set the turn-back position P4 to a position away from the parking frame, and the road width W necessary for the turn-back is wide. Normally, when a person drives, if there is no other car parked in the adjacent parking frame, he / she does not hesitate to step on the white line K of the parking frame, so the track L1 is a track that makes the driver feel uncomfortable. Further, when the road in front of the parking frame is narrow, the turn-back position P4 shown in FIG. 6 cannot be set, and turn-over is required a plurality of times. In this case, the proposed trajectory becomes a trajectory that is uncomfortable for a driver who thinks that the vehicle can be parked in one turn.

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a parking assist device capable of proposing a parking trajectory that is closer to a human sense.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

  A parking assist device provided by the present invention is input from a target parking position setting means for setting a target parking position for parking a car, a detection means for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle in a predetermined area, and an in-vehicle camera. Track creation means for creating an ideal track from the position of the vehicle to the target parking position so as to avoid a predetermined display object displayed in the image based on the image The trajectory creation means does not consider a portion located in a region where the detection means detects that there is no obstacle among the predetermined display objects.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to create a trajectory that is allowed to pass through a region in which it is detected that there is no obstacle by the detection means. The trajectory is a trajectory that allows a white line of an adjacent parking frame to be stepped on. Therefore, it is possible to propose a parking trajectory that is closer to a human sense. Moreover, since the turn-back position can be set at a position close to the parking frame, a parking trajectory by one turn-back can be proposed even if the width of the road in front of the parking frame is narrow.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle to which the parking assistance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment was applied. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the creation method of the ideal track | orbit which a track | orbit preparation part performs. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart for demonstrating the parking assistance process which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (a) has shown the start process of the parking assistance process, (b) has shown the repetition process of a parking assistance process ing. (A) is a figure for demonstrating acquisition of the vacant area information from parking assistance start to parking start, (b) is for demonstrating parking assistance when the target parking position which needs to be turned back is selected. FIG. (A) is a figure for demonstrating the example in the case of parking which does not need a return, (b) is a figure for demonstrating the example in the case of assisting parallel parking. It is a figure for demonstrating the conventional parking assistance.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle 1 to which a parking assistance device according to the first embodiment is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, a car 1 includes a parking assist ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 2, a right side camera 31, a left side camera 32, a front camera 33, a rear camera 34, a left front sonar 91, a right front sonar 92, and various types. A sensor 4, an operation device 5, a speaker 6, a display 7, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering) -ECU 8 are provided. Although the car 1 has other configurations, the description is omitted in FIG.

  Each of the right side camera 31, the left side camera 32, the front camera 33, and the rear camera 34 is a photographing device that photographs an image around the car 1, and includes an image sensor such as a CCD or a CMOS, for example, and performs predetermined photographing. The area is photographed at a predetermined frame rate. The right side camera 31 is attached to a right door mirror (for example, the bottom surface thereof), and takes an image of the right side of the vehicle 1 including the right side surface and the road surface of the vehicle 1. The left side camera 32 is attached to a left door mirror (for example, the bottom surface thereof), and takes an image of the left side of the car 1 including the left side and the road surface of the car 1. The front camera 33 is attached near the center of the front portion of the vehicle 1 in the vehicle width direction and captures an image of the front of the vehicle 1 including the front surface of the vehicle 1 and the road surface. The rear camera 34 is attached, for example, near the center of the back door in the vehicle width direction, and captures an image of the rear of the vehicle 1 including the rear surface and the road surface of the vehicle 1. In addition, the attachment position of these cameras is not limited. Image data captured by each of the cameras 31 to 34 is output to the parking assist ECU 2.

  The left front sonar 91 and the right front sonar 92 are ultrasonic sensors that transmit ultrasonic waves and detect the presence or absence of an obstacle in a predetermined area based on the received reflected waves. The ultrasonic sensor detects the distance from the time from when the ultrasonic wave is transmitted until the reflected wave is received to the obstacle, but when the reflected wave is not received within the predetermined time, the obstacle is present in the predetermined area. It can be judged that there is no. In this embodiment, for example, it is detected whether there is an obstacle within 4 m. The left front sonar 91 is attached in the vicinity of the left corner of the front portion of the car 1 (see FIG. 4A), and detects the presence or absence of an obstacle in a predetermined area on the left front side of the car 1. The right front sonar 92 is attached near the corner on the right side of the front portion of the car 1 (see FIG. 4A), and detects the presence or absence of an obstacle in a predetermined area on the right front side of the car 1. Each sonar 91, 92 outputs a detection signal indicating the presence or absence of an obstacle to the parking assist ECU 2. Each of the sonars 91 and 92 does not need to detect the distance from the obstacle with high accuracy, and may be an inexpensive ultrasonic sensor. The left front sonar 91 and the right front sonar 92 correspond to the “detecting means” of the present invention.

  Various sensors 4 detect various detection values and output them to the parking assist ECU 2. The various sensors 4 include a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle of the steering, a vehicle speed sensor that detects the wheel speed of each wheel of the vehicle 1, a brake sensor that detects the operation amount of the brake pedal, and an operation amount of the accelerator pedal. Accelerator sensors are included.

  The speaker 6 outputs sound and outputs sound based on the sound signal input from the parking assist ECU 2.

  The display 7 is constituted by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), for example, and is installed in the center console portion of the car 1. The display 7 is not limited to the LCD, but may be an organic EL display or a plasma display. Further, the installation position is not limited to the center console portion, and may be in a range that can be seen from the driver. The display 7 displays a bird's-eye view image based on an image signal input from the parking assistance ECU 2 during parking assistance. The display 7 may also be used as a display such as a navigation system. In this case, when an operation signal instructing the start of parking assistance is input from the operation device 5, the navigation screen may be switched to the parking assistance screen (overhead image).

  The operation device 5 is operated by a driver (or a passenger) and outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation to the parking assist ECU 2. In the present embodiment, the controller device 5 is a touch panel arranged on the screen of the display 7. When a button or the like displayed on the screen of the display 7 is operated with a fingertip, the touch panel reads the touch position and outputs a corresponding operation signal. The operation device 5 is not limited to this, and may be an input device such as an operation button or a joystick. A driver (or a passenger) can instruct the parking assistance ECU 2 to start parking assistance or designate a target parking position by operating the operation device 5.

  The EPS-ECU 8 is an electronic control unit that controls the steering mechanism. The EPS-ECU 8 normally controls the steering mechanism in accordance with the steering wheel operation by the driver. Further, at the time of parking assistance, the steering angle is input from the parking assistance ECU 2, and the steering mechanism is controlled according to the steering angle.

  The parking assistance ECU 2 is an electronic control unit for performing parking assistance, and is realized by a microcomputer including a CPU and a memory. The parking assist ECU 2 receives image data from the cameras 31 to 34 and creates an overhead image. Based on the overhead image, the detection signals input from the sonars 91 and 92, the signals input from the various sensors 4, and the operation signals input from the operation device 5, control for parking assistance is performed. Do. For example, the parking assist ECU 2 creates an ideal trajectory for parking, outputs the steering angle to the EPS-ECU 8 to assist the steering operation, creates an image for parking assist, and displays the image on the display 7. Voice for parking assistance is output from the speaker 6. The parking assistance ECU 2 corresponds to the “parking assistance device” of the present invention.

  The parking assist ECU 2 includes, as functional blocks, an empty area detection unit 20, a bird's-eye view image creation unit 21, a parking frame detection unit 22, a target parking position setting unit 23, a track creation unit 24, a vehicle position estimation unit 25, and a guidance control unit 26. And an audio / video control unit 27.

  The own vehicle position estimation unit 25 estimates the current position of the vehicle 1. The vehicle position estimation unit 25 uses the position of the vehicle 1 when parking assistance is started (hereinafter, referred to as “support start position”) as a reference from the detection signals sequentially input from the various sensors 4. Estimate the current position of. Hereinafter, the estimated current position of the vehicle 1 is described as “estimated position”.

  The vacant area detection unit 20 detects the presence or absence of an obstacle and stores information on an area without an obstacle in a memory. The vacant area detection unit 20 specifies an area where there is no obstacle based on the detection signal input from the left front sonar 91 and the right front sonar 92 and the estimated position estimated by the vehicle position estimation unit 25. Specifically, when a detection signal indicating that there is no obstacle is input from each of the sonars 91 and 92, an area in which each of the sonars 91 and 92 detects that there is no obstacle based on the estimated position (hereinafter, (Described as “free space”). A region where the presence or absence of an obstacle is detected from the attachment positions and directions of the sonars 91 and 92 is determined with respect to the position of the vehicle 1. Therefore, the currently detected area is determined from the current position of the car 1. Position information indicating the calculated free space (hereinafter referred to as “free space information”) is stored in the memory. The free space information stores both information based on detection by the left front sonar 91 and information based on detection by the right front sonar 92. Note that the driver may set in advance whether the vehicle 1 is parked on the left side or the right side by operating the operation device 5, and only the sonar corresponding thereto may perform detection. In this case, only the free space information corresponding to the detected sonar is stored.

  Obstacle detection by each of the sonars 91 and 92 may be performed at a predetermined timing, or may be performed in accordance with an instruction from the free space detection unit 20. Further, each of the sonars 91 and 92 may only transmit an ultrasonic wave in response to an instruction from the free space detection unit 20 and output a reception signal to the free space detection unit 20 when a reflected wave is received. In this case, the empty area detection unit 20 may measure the time from the transmission of the ultrasonic wave to the reception of the reflected wave, and determine the presence or absence of an obstacle in the predetermined area.

  The vacant area detection unit 20 accumulates vacant area information from when parking assistance is started until parking is started. Since the storage area for storing the free area information in the memory is fixed, the newly acquired free area information is overwritten on the oldest free area information. In the present embodiment, for example, 10 m of free space information can be stored as the travel distance of the car 1. Older space information (away from the current position) is not necessary when parking, so there is no problem even if it is updated.

  The overhead image creation unit 21 creates an overhead image. The bird's-eye view image creation unit 21 creates a bird's-eye view image displayed as if looked down from a virtual viewpoint above the car 1 by predetermined image processing from image data input from the cameras 31 to 34.

  The parking frame detection unit 22 detects a parking frame from the overhead image created by the overhead image creation unit 21. The parking frame detection unit 22 detects, for example, a white line, and detects a rectangular area formed by the white line as a parking frame. The method for detecting the parking frame is not limited. The parking frame may be detected by image recognition processing such as pattern matching. The line forming the parking frame is not limited to the white line, and may be a yellow line or another color line, or may be a broken line. Further, the parking frame is not limited to being formed in a rectangular shape, but may be formed in a parallelogram shape, or may be formed of only two parallel lines. In these cases, it is desirable that the parking frame can be detected.

  The target parking position setting unit 23 sets a target parking position. The target parking position setting unit 23 selects a parking frame for parking the vehicle 1 from the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22, and sets the position of the selected parking frame as the target parking position. A parking frame for parking the car 1 is automatically selected according to a predetermined algorithm from the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. In addition, all the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22 may be displayed on the display 7 (or selected to some extent), and the driver may select them by operating the operation device 5. Further, the parking frame may be set on the overhead image by the driver operating the operation device 5 without performing the detection and display of the parking frame by the parking frame detection unit 22.

  The track creation unit 24 creates an ideal track for parking at the target parking position set by the target parking position setting unit 23 from the current position of the car 1. An ideal trajectory is created that can avoid the obstacle displayed in the overhead image. However, in this embodiment, it is determined that the white line existing in the area indicated by the free area information stored in the memory is not an obstacle. That is, the trajectory creation unit 24 creates an ideal trajectory by ignoring the white line existing in the area indicated by the free area information. Hereinafter, an ideal trajectory created by the trajectory creation unit 24 is referred to as an “ideal trajectory”.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of an ideal trajectory creation method performed by the trajectory creation unit 24. In FIG. 2, the ideal trajectory L is created by the circumference of a circle C indicating the turning trajectory of the vehicle 1 and the tangent line in contact with the circle C. The ideal trajectory is created so as to avoid the obstacle displayed in the overhead image, and the white line K of the adjacent parking frame is also recognized as an obstacle. The white line K corresponds to the “predetermined display object” of the present invention.

  FIG. 2A shows a conventional method that does not use free space information. In the conventional method, the circle C and the circle CL are set so that the circle CL indicating the left end of the passing area of the vehicle 1 does not cover the white line K. Then, an ideal trajectory L is created from the trajectory from the parking start position Pa to the point Pc on the circumference of the circle C and the trajectory from the point Pc tangent to the circle C to the target parking position Pb.

  FIG. 2B shows a method for creating an ideal trajectory performed by the trajectory creation unit 24 using free space information. In this method, an area A in which white lines can be ignored (indicated by hatching with diagonal lines in FIG. 2B) is determined based on the empty area information stored in the memory, and a portion of the white line K located in the area A Is determined not to be an obstacle. Therefore, it is allowed that the circle CL is applied to a portion located in the region A of the white line K, and the circle C and the circle CL are set so that the circle CL does not cover a portion not located in the region A of the white line K. Then, an ideal trajectory L is created from the trajectory from the parking start position Pa on the circumference of the circle C to the target parking position Pb. In this case, in the area A, the positions of the circle C and the circle CL can be moved to the left by the dimension D in the parking frame parking direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) (FIGS. 2A and 2B). ) (See center point CO of circle C). The method for creating the ideal trajectory is not limited.

  The guidance control unit 26 guides the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 can move along the ideal track from the estimated position estimated by the vehicle position estimation unit 25 and the ideal track created by the track creation unit 24. Specifically, the guidance control unit 26 calculates a steering angle at which the vehicle 1 can move on the ideal track at the estimated position, and outputs the calculated steering angle to the EPS-ECU 8.

  The image / audio control unit 27 creates an image for parking assistance and displays the image on the display 7, and causes the speaker 6 to output audio for parking assistance. Note that the image that the image / sound controller 27 displays on the display 7 and the sound that the speaker 6 outputs are not limited. For example, as an example, an image obtained by superimposing display of a frame indicating the target parking position and display of a trajectory indicating the ideal trajectory on the overhead view image may be displayed.

  Next, parking assistance processing performed by the parking assistance ECU 2 will be described below with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  Fig.3 (a) is an example of the flowchart for demonstrating the start process of a parking assistance process. This process is executed at the start of the parking support process, and is executed, for example, when an operation signal instructing the start of parking support is input from the operation device 5. In addition, you may make it perform when there exists operation | movement which shows the intention to park, for example, when the vehicle speed becomes 10 km / h or less. In this case, after the start process is executed, if the vehicle speed exceeds 10 km / h, it is determined that there is no intention to park, and the start process is terminated.

  First, the position of the vehicle 1 (support start position) when parking support is started is set (S1). In the following processing, each position is represented by coordinates with the assistance start position as a reference (origin). Next, detection signals are input from the various sensors 4 (S2), and the current position (estimated position) of the vehicle 1 is estimated by the vehicle position estimation unit 25 (S3). The estimated position is calculated as a position based on the support start position.

  Next, a free area is detected (S4). Specifically, the left front sonar 91 and the right front sonar 92 detect the presence or absence of an obstacle in a predetermined area, and input a detection signal to the empty area detection unit 20. Then, the free space detection unit 20 stores the free space information in the memory based on the input detection signal and the estimated position estimated by the own vehicle position estimation unit 25. When a detection signal indicating that there is no obstacle is input, the empty area detection unit 20 sets a predetermined area corresponding to the estimated position as an empty area, and stores the position information in the memory as empty area information. On the other hand, when a detection signal indicating that there is an obstacle is input, it is determined that the predetermined area corresponding to the estimated position is not an empty area, and the position information is not stored in the memory.

  Next, it is determined whether or not parking start is instructed (S5). Specifically, it is determined whether or not an operation signal instructing parking start is input from the operation device 5. Note that it may be determined that parking start is instructed when there is an operation indicating an intention to start parking, such as when the vehicle 1 stops (when the vehicle speed becomes “0”). When parking start is not instruct | indicated (S5: NO), it returns to step S2 and step S2-S5 is repeated. When parking start is instructed (S5: YES), the process proceeds to step S6. That is, position information (empty area information) of an area without an obstacle is accumulated until parking start is instructed.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining acquisition of free space information from the start of parking support to the start of parking. In FIG. 4A, the description will be made assuming that the parking assist process is started when the vehicle 1 is located at the point P1. The point P1 is, for example, the center position of the car 1 (the same applies to the points P2, P3, P4, and P5).

  The parking assist process start process is executed at the point P1, and the point P1 is set as the support start position. The vehicle 1 estimates the position of the vehicle while moving, and stores free space information corresponding to the position of the vehicle. From the accumulated vacant area information, an area A (indicated by hatching with diagonal lines in FIG. 4A) where the white line can be ignored is determined.

  In step S6, the position of the car 1 at the start of parking (hereinafter referred to as “parking start position”) is set (S6). Next, image data is input from each of the cameras 31 to 34 (S7), and an overhead image is created by the overhead image creation unit 21 (S8). Next, a target parking position is set (S9). Specifically, the parking frame detection unit 22 detects a parking frame from the overhead image, and the target parking position setting unit 23 sets the position of the parking frame selected from the detected parking frames as the target parking position. Information on the target parking position and direction (position and direction based on the support start position) is stored. Then, the trajectory creation unit 24 creates an ideal trajectory from the parking start position to the target parking position (S10), and the start process is terminated. In the present embodiment, the ideal trajectory is created ignoring white lines existing in the area indicated by the empty area information. The ideal trajectory is stored as a set of position information based on the support start position. A plurality of ideal trajectories may be created and selected by the driver.

  FIG. 4B is a diagram for describing parking assistance when a target parking position that needs to be turned back is selected. In FIG. 4B, it is assumed that parking is instructed when the vehicle 1 is located at the point P2.

  Since parking start is instructed at point P2, point P2 is set as the parking start position. Then, it is assumed that the parking frame indicated by the point P3 is set as the target parking position from the detected parking frame. When parking from the parking start position P2 to the target parking position P3, since turning is necessary, the trajectory L1 and the trajectory L2 are created as ideal trajectories. The trajectory L1 is an ideal trajectory from the parking start position P2 to the return position P4, and the trajectory L2 is an ideal trajectory from the return position P4 to the target parking position P3. In the present embodiment, the ideal trajectory is created by ignoring the white line existing in the region A where the white line can be ignored (indicated by hatching with diagonal lines in FIG. 4B). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the vehicle 1 steps on the portion located in the region A among the white lines K of the parking frame adjacent to the parking frame at the target parking position P3 (the broken line at the position of the point P5 in the figure). The track L2 is created as an ideal track.

  FIG. 3B is an example of a flowchart for explaining the repetition process of the parking support process. This process is repeatedly executed after the start process (see FIG. 3A) is completed until an operation signal instructing the end of parking support is input from the operation device 5.

  First, detection signals are input from the various sensors 4 (S11), and the current position (estimated position) of the vehicle 1 is estimated by the own vehicle position estimating unit 25 (S12). The estimated position is calculated as a position based on the support start position P1. Next, a guidance process is performed by the guidance control unit 26 (S13). The guidance process is a process of calculating a steering angle that allows the vehicle 1 to move along the ideal track based on the estimated position and the ideal track, and outputting the calculated steering angle to the EPS-ECU 8. Then, the image and sound control unit 27 performs screen display processing (S14) and sound output processing (S15). The screen display process is a process for creating an image for parking assistance based on the image data input from each of the cameras 31 to 34 and displaying the image on the display 7. The voice output process is a process for outputting a voice for parking assistance to the speaker 6 based on the estimated position and the ideal trajectory.

  Each process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is an example, and the parking support process is not limited to the above-described process.

  Next, the operation and effect of the parking assist ECU 2 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  According to the present embodiment, the free space detection unit 20 detects a free space based on the detection signal input from the left front sonar 91 and the right front sonar 92 and the estimated position estimated by the own vehicle position estimation unit 25. The free space information is stored in the memory. Then, the track creation unit 24 creates an ideal track for parking at the target parking position set by the target parking position setting unit 23 from the current position of the car 1. The trajectory creation unit 24 creates a trajectory that can avoid the obstacle displayed in the overhead image, but determines that the white line existing in the area indicated by the free area information stored in the memory is not an obstacle. Therefore, the trajectory creation unit 24 can create an ideal trajectory that ignores white lines existing in the area indicated by the free area information. Thereby, it is possible to propose a parking trajectory that is closer to a human sense.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B, a trajectory L2 ignoring the white line existing in the region A is allowed as an ideal trajectory from the parking start position P2 to the target parking position P3. Ideal trajectories L1 and L2 defined as P4 are created. The ideal trajectories L1 and L2 are trajectories that allow the white line of the parking frame to be stepped on, and are close to the normal driver's feeling. Moreover, since the turn-back position P4 is set at a position close to the parking frame, the road width W necessary for turn-back can be reduced. Therefore, even when the road in front of the parking frame is narrow, it is possible to propose a parking trajectory that can be parked with one turn. This parking trajectory is also a parking trajectory close to that of a normal driver.

  The trajectory creation unit 24 determines that the display other than the white line of the parking frame in the overhead view image (for example, characters and symbols written on the road surface) exists in the area indicated by the empty area information is not an obstacle. . Therefore, the number display etc. written in the parking frame is also judged not to be an obstacle in the area indicated by the empty area information, and a parking trajectory ignoring this is proposed.

  In addition, although this embodiment demonstrated the case where the parking frame detection part 22 detected a parking frame from the bird's-eye view image created from the image data input from each camera 31-34, it is not restricted to this. For example, if the vehicle 1 is parked in the parking frame on the left side, a bird's-eye view image created from image data input from the left side camera 32 may be used. Moreover, you may make it detect a parking frame from the image data input from each camera 31-34, without producing a bird's-eye view image. In the present embodiment, the case where the trajectory creation unit 24 creates an ideal trajectory based on an overhead image is described, but the present invention is not limited to this. An ideal trajectory may be created from image data input from the cameras 31 to 34 without creating a bird's-eye view image.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the ultrasonic sensors (the left front sonar 91 and the right front sonar 92) are used to detect the presence or absence of an obstacle has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the presence or absence of an obstacle may be detected using a laser radar, a millimeter wave radar, a microwave radar, or the like. Further, the presence or absence of an obstacle may be detected by image processing such as stereoscopic vision by a plurality of cameras or obstacle detection by artificial intelligence using a monocular camera. In this case, the camera and the image processing means correspond to the “detecting means” of the present invention. In addition, when the parking management system manages the vacant state of each parking frame, it obtains the vacant information of the parking frame next to the target parking position by communicating with the management system, and puts it in the adjacent parking frame. It may be allowed to step on the white line of the parking frame, assuming that there is no obstacle when there is no parked vehicle. In this case, the communication device that communicates with the management system corresponds to the “detection means” of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the case of parking that needs to be turned back has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Fig.5 (a) is a figure for demonstrating the example in the case of the parking which does not need a return. In FIG. 5A, description will be made assuming that parking is instructed when the vehicle 1 is located at the point P2. In addition, before the car 1 arrives at the point P2, similarly to FIG. 4A, the free area information is stored, and the area A where the white line can be ignored is determined. The position P2 of the car 1 at the start of parking is set to the parking start position P2. In this case, the trajectory L1 is created as an ideal trajectory. The track L1 is an ideal track from the parking start position P2 to the target parking position P3. The track L1 is created by ignoring the white line existing in the region A, and is a track in which the car 1 indicated by the broken line at the position of the point P5 steps on the white line positioned in the region A. Also in this case, the parking trajectory is close to a human sense.

  In this embodiment, although the parking assistance ECU2 demonstrated the case where parallel parking was supported, it is not restricted to this. The parking support ECU 2 may support parallel parking. Even when supporting parallel parking, the parking support process shown in FIG. 3 can be used. However, in the track creation shown in step S10 of FIG. 3A, a different algorithm is used to create a track for parallel parking.

  FIG.5 (b) is a figure for demonstrating the example in the case of assisting parallel parking. In FIG. 5B, it is assumed that parking is instructed when the vehicle 1 is located at the point P2. In addition, before the car 1 arrives at the point P2, similarly to FIG. 4A, the free area information is stored, and the area A where the white line can be ignored is determined. The position P2 of the car 1 at the start of parking is set to the parking start position P2. In this case, the trajectory L1 and the trajectory L2 are created as ideal trajectories. The trajectory L1 is an ideal trajectory from the parking start position P2 to the advance position P4, and the trajectory L2 is an ideal trajectory from the advance position P4 to the target parking position P3. The track L2 is created by ignoring the white line existing in the region A, and is a track in which the car 1 indicated by the broken line at the position of the point P5 steps on the white line positioned in the region A. Also in this case, the parking trajectory is close to a human sense.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the parking assist ECU 2 supports the steering operation by the driver by inputting the steering angle to the EPS-ECU 8 to control the steering mechanism has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The parking assist ECU 2 may not support the steering wheel operation, and the driver may perform the steering wheel operation so that the vehicle 1 advances along the ideal track by looking at the display screen.

  The parking assistance apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the parking assistance apparatus according to the present invention can be varied in design in various ways.

1: Car 2: Parking assistance ECU
20: Empty area detection unit 21: Overhead image creation unit 22: Parking frame detection unit 23: Target parking position setting unit 24: Track creation unit 25: Own vehicle position estimation unit 26: Guidance control unit 27: Image audio control unit 31: Right side camera 32: Left side camera 33: Front camera 34: Rear camera 4: Various sensors 5: Operating device 6: Speaker 7: Display 8: EPS-ECU
91: Left front sonar 92: Right front sonar

Claims (1)

Target parking position setting means for setting a target parking position for parking the car;
Detection means for detecting the presence or absence of obstacles in a predetermined area;
Based on the image input from the in-vehicle camera, so as to avoid a predetermined display object displayed in the image, a trajectory creating means for creating an ideal trajectory from the vehicle position to the target parking position;
With
The trajectory creation means does not consider a portion located in an area where the detection means detects that there is no obstacle among the predetermined display objects,
A parking assistance device characterized by that.

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