JP2018190065A - Parking support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a parking support device for eliminating the need of an operation of a driver and setting a parking frame desired by a driver as much as possible concerning setting of a target parking position.SOLUTION: A parking support device includes: a parking frame detection section for detecting multiple parking frames from images input from on-vehicle cameras; a seat position detection sensor 91 for detecting a position of a driving seat 101; and a target parking position setting section for selecting a parking frame to be a target parking position among multiple parking frames detected by the parking frame detection section, on the basis of a position of the driving seat 101 detected by the seat position detection sensor 91.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

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 for setting the target parking position have been developed.

  For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a method for setting a target parking position and a parking direction based on an operation by a driver. However, when setting is performed by a driver's operation, the operation takes time, and the vehicle needs to be stopped during that time. In addition, the operation is troublesome.

  As a method that does not require an operation by the driver, there is a method in which the parking assist device detects a parking frame from an image captured by a camera and sets the detected parking frame as a target parking position. For example, the target parking position can be set by using an image captured by a side camera disposed in a door mirror at the stop position at the stop position where the driver wants to park.

JP 2008-44529 A

  However, in this case, a parking frame that the driver does not want may be set as the target parking position. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the reason why an undesired parking frame is set. In FIG. 7, the driver stops the car 1 in front of the parking frame F1 to be parked. Since the driver has set the driver's seat to the rear and the driver's viewpoint is at the position Vd indicated by the broken line, he intends to stop the car 1 in front of the parking frame F1. However, since the position of the side camera is the position of Vc indicated by the broken line, the parking support device sets the parking frame F2 as the target parking position from the image captured by the side camera.

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances described above, and does not require the driver's operation in setting the target parking position, and the parking frame desired by the driver is set as much as possible. It aims at providing the parking assistance device which can do.

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

  The parking assist device provided by the present invention includes a parking frame detection unit that detects a plurality of parking frames from an image input from an in-vehicle camera, a detection sensor that detects a viewpoint position of the driver, and the parking frame detection unit. And a target parking position setting unit that selects a parking frame as a target parking position based on the viewpoint position detected by the detection sensor from the plurality of detected parking frames. To do.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of parking frames are detected from an image input from the in-vehicle camera, and a parking frame corresponding to the driver's viewpoint position is set as a target parking position. Since the target parking position is set in consideration of the viewpoint position of the driver, the parking frame desired by the driver can be set as the target parking position as much as possible. Further, the driver's operation is not required for setting the target parking position.

  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 the selection method of the parking frame by the target parking position setting part. 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 target parking position setting process. (C) shows the repetition process of the parking assistance process. It is a figure for demonstrating the parking assistance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (a) is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle to which the said parking assistance apparatus was applied, (b) and (c) It is a figure for demonstrating the selection method of the parking frame which concerns on 2 embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the parking assistance apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment, (a) is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle to which the said parking assistance apparatus was applied, (b) And (c) It is a figure for demonstrating the selection method of the parking frame which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example in case a parking frame detection part detects three parking frames. It is a figure for demonstrating the cause in which the parking frame which is not desired is set in 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 assistance ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 2, a right side camera 31, a left side camera 32, a front camera 33, a rear camera 34, various sensors 4, a seat position detection sensor 91, an operation. The apparatus 5, the speaker 6, the display 7, and EPS (Electric Power Steering) -ECU8 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.

  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 seat position detection sensor 91 is a sensor that detects the position of the driving seat in the front-rear direction. The driving seat is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction along a slide rail extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. The driver can move and fix the driving seat to a position where driving is easy. The driver may be identified and the driving seat may be automatically moved to a preset position. The seat position detection sensor 91 detects a fixed position of the driving seat on the slide rail, and outputs a detection signal indicating the position to the parking assist ECU 2. In the present embodiment, a case will be described as an example where there are 10 stages of arrangement positions from the state where the driving seat is moved most forward to the state where the driving seat is moved rearward. The seat position detection sensor 91 may detect the position of the driving seat with respect to the slide rail, or may detect the position of the driving seat with respect to the vehicle body. In the case of a configuration in which the driving seat is automatically moved, information on the set position may be used. As long as the seat position detection sensor 91 can detect the position of the driving seat in the front-rear direction, the detection method, the arrangement position, the structure, and the like are not limited. The seat position detection sensor 91 indirectly detects the driver's viewpoint position by detecting the position of the driving seat in the front-rear direction. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the sheet position detection sensor 91 corresponds to the “detection sensor” of the present invention.

  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 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 bird's-eye view image, each signal input from the various sensors 4, and an operation signal input from the operation device 5, control for parking assistance is performed. 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 support ECU 2 includes, as functional blocks, an overhead 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, a guidance control unit 26, and an image audio control unit. 27.

  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 plurality of parking frames 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. In the present embodiment, two parking frames close to the car 1 (left side camera 32) are detected. For example, in the case of FIG. 7, the parking frame F1 and the parking frame F2 close to the car 1 are detected. In addition, when there are parking frames on the left side and the right side of the vehicle 1, whether the left parking frame or the right parking frame is detected is set by the driver using the operation device 5. 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 and a parking direction. The target parking position setting unit 23 selects a parking frame for parking the car 1 from the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22, and sets the position and direction of the selected parking frame as the target parking position and the parking direction. Set as. The parking frame for parking the car 1 is automatically selected from the two parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. In the present embodiment, the target parking position setting unit 23 selects a parking frame based on a detection signal input from the seat position detection sensor 91. Specifically, the target parking position setting unit 23 receives a detection signal indicating that the position of the driving seat is the first to fifth stages among the ten positions, and the parking frame detection unit The parking frame in front of the parking frame detected by 22 is selected. On the other hand, when a detection signal indicating that the position of the driving seat is the sixth to tenth positions from the front among the ten positions is input, it is behind the parking frame detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. Select a parking slot.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method for selecting a parking frame by the target parking position setting unit 23. FIG. 2A shows a case where the driver is fixing the driver's seat 101 in a state where the driver's seat 101 is moved forward (for example, the second stage from the front among the ten stages of arrangement positions). In this case, since the distance D in the front-rear direction between the viewpoint of the driver and the left side camera 32 attached to the bottom surface of the left door mirror 102 is short, the field of view of the driver is relatively close to the field of view of the left side camera 32. Therefore, the parking frame that the driver sees (thinks to park) is likely to be the front parking frame among the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. The seat position detection sensor 91 detects the fixed position of the driving seat 101 and outputs a detection signal indicating that the driving seat 101 is at the second stage position from the front. And the target parking position setting part 23 selects the parking frame in front based on the input detection signal.

  FIG. 2B shows a case where the driver is fixing the driver's seat 101 in a state where the driver's seat 101 is moved backward (for example, the ninth stage from the front among the ten stages of arrangement positions). In this case, since the distance D in the front-rear direction between the viewpoint of the driver and the left side camera 32 attached to the bottom surface of the left door mirror 102 is long, the driver's field of view and the field of view of the left side camera 32 are relatively far apart. ing. Therefore, the parking frame that the driver sees (thinks to park) is likely to be a rear parking frame among the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. The seat position detection sensor 91 detects a fixed position of the driving seat 101 and outputs a detection signal indicating that the driving seat 101 is at the ninth stage position from the front. And the target parking position setting part 23 selects the parking frame in the back based on the input detection signal.

  Note that the boundary between selecting the front parking frame or the rear parking frame does not necessarily need to be the center of the movable range of the driving seat 101. For example, the front parking frame is selected when the position of the driving seat 101 is the first to third stages among the ten positions, and the rear parking frame is selected when the driving seat 101 is the fourth to tenth positions from the front. You may do it. The boundary may not be fixed. For example, the boundary may be changed according to the positional relationship between the two detected parking frames and the vehicle 1 (left side camera 32). For example, when the car 1 is located in front of the front parking frame, the parking frame desired by the driver is highly likely to be the front parking frame unless the driving seat 101 is arranged far behind. Therefore, in this case, the front parking frame may be selected in the case of the first to eighth stages from the front, and the rear parking frame may be selected in the case of the ninth to tenth stages from the front.

  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 creation method is not limited. Hereinafter, an ideal trajectory created by the trajectory creation unit 24 is referred to as an “ideal trajectory”.

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

  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, such as when the R range (backward range) is selected by shift operation.

  First, the position (start position) of the vehicle 1 when parking assistance is started is set (S1). In the following processing, each position is represented by coordinates with the start position as a reference (origin). Next, image data is input from each of the cameras 31 to 34 (S2), and an overhead image is created by the overhead image creation unit 21 (S3). Next, the target parking position setting process is executed to set the target parking position (S4). Then, an ideal trajectory from the start position to the target parking position is created by the trajectory creation unit 24 (S5), and the start process ends. The ideal trajectory is stored as a set of position information based on the start position. A plurality of ideal trajectories may be created and selected by the driver.

  FIG. 3B is an example of a flowchart for explaining the target parking position setting process. This process is a subroutine shown in step S4 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the parking frame detection unit 22 detects two parking frames from the overhead image (S41). Next, the seat position of the driving seat is detected (S42). Specifically, a detection signal is input from the sheet position detection sensor 91. Next, it is determined whether or not the seat position is the front (S43). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the detection signal is a detection signal indicating that the position of the driving seat is the front (for example, the first to fifth stages from among the ten positions). When the seat position is the front (S43: YES), the front parking frame is selected, the position and direction of the parking frame are set as the target parking position and the parking direction (S44), and the seat position is not the front (rear) (Yes) (S43: NO), the rear parking frame is selected, the position and direction of the parking frame are set as the target parking position and the parking direction (S45), and the target parking position setting process is terminated. Information on the target parking position and parking direction (position and direction based on the start position) is stored.

  FIG.3 (c) is an example of the flowchart for demonstrating the repetition process of a parking assistance 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 start position. 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 this embodiment, the parking frame detection unit 22 detects two parking frames from the overhead image created by the overhead image creation unit 21. The seat position detection sensor 91 detects the position of the driving seat and outputs a detection signal indicating the position. Since the viewpoint position of the driver is indirectly detected at the position of the driving seat, the seat position detection sensor 91 corresponds to the “detection sensor” of the present invention. When the detection signal input from the seat position detection sensor 91 is a detection signal indicating that the position of the driving seat is the front, the target parking position setting unit 23 includes the parking frame detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. Select the parking frame in front. On the other hand, when the detection signal is a detection signal indicating that the position of the driving seat is behind, the target parking position setting unit 23 selects the parking frame behind the parking frame detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. To do. Thereby, when the position of a driving seat is ahead, the parking frame ahead is selected, and when the position of the driving seat is backward, the parking frame behind is selected and the target parking position is set. When the position of the driver's seat is in front, the driver's field of view is relatively close to the field of view of the left side camera 32, so the parking frame that the driver sees (thinks to park) is the front parking frame. There is a high possibility. On the other hand, when the position of the driver's seat is rearward, the driver's field of vision and the field of view of the left side camera 32 are relatively far away, so the parking frame that the driver sees (thinks to park) is There is a high possibility that it is a rear parking frame. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the parking frame desired by the driver can be set as the target parking position. Further, the driver can set the target parking position without performing an operation.

  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. Further, a parking frame may be detected from image data input from the left side camera 32 without creating an overhead image.

  In this embodiment, the parking frame detection unit 22 detects two parking frames close to the left side camera 32, and the target parking position setting unit 23 detects the parking frame based on a detection signal input from the seat position detection sensor 91. Although the case of selecting has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the parking frame detection unit 22 detects all parking frames included in the image, and the target parking position setting unit 23 detects the driver's viewpoint position (left side camera) based on the detection signal input from the seat position detection sensor 91. 32), the parking frame included in the image is moved according to the viewpoint position (the image is relatively moved), and the parking frame located at the center of the image is selected. Good. The target parking position setting unit 23 only needs to be able to select the parking frame by a predetermined algorithm based on the detection signal input from the seat position detection sensor 91 from the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. .

  In this embodiment, the case where the target parking position setting unit 23 sets the target parking position based on the detection signal input from the seat position detection sensor 91 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Other embodiments will be described below.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the parking assistance device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle 1 ′ to which the parking assist device according to the second embodiment is applied. In FIG. 4A, the same or similar elements as those of the vehicle 1 (see FIG. 1) according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C are diagrams for explaining a parking frame selection method according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the vehicle 1 'includes a reclining detection sensor 92 instead of the seat position detection sensor 91, and the first parking position is set according to the detected reclining angle. Different from the car 1 according to the embodiment.

  The reclining detection sensor 92 is a sensor that detects the reclining angle of the operation seat 101. The driving seat 101 includes a seat cushion 101a that serves as a seating surface portion of the seat, and a seat back 101b that is provided on the back side of the seat cushion 101a and serves as a seat backrest portion. The angle of the seat back 101b with respect to the seat cushion 101a can be adjusted. The reclining angle indicates an angle at which the seat back 101b is inclined rearward with reference to a state (0 °) where the seat back 101b is orthogonal to the seat cushion 101a. The driver can change and fix the reclining angle so that it is easy to drive. The driver may be identified and the driving seat 101 may be automatically changed to a preset reclining angle. The reclining detection sensor 92 detects the reclining angle, and outputs a detection signal indicating the angle to the parking assist ECU 2. In the present embodiment, a case will be described as an example in which 10-stage angle adjustment is possible from a state in which the seat back 101b is most upright (reclining angle is 0 °) to a state in which the seatback 101b is laid down most (reclining angle is 90 °). In reality, it is unlikely that you will drive in the most laid state. The reclining detection sensor 92 may detect the reclining angle from the angle of the seat back 101b with respect to the seat cushion 101a, or may detect the reclining angle from the angle of the seat back 101b with respect to the vehicle body. In the case of a configuration in which the reclining angle is automatically changed, information on the set reclining angle may be used. As long as the reclining detection sensor 92 can detect the reclining angle, the detection method, the arrangement position, the structure, and the like are not limited. Further, the reclining detection sensor 92 may detect not the reclining angle but the angle of the seat back 101b with respect to the seat cushion 101a. The reclining detection sensor 92 detects the driver's viewpoint position indirectly by detecting the reclining angle of the driving seat 101. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the reclining detection sensor 92 corresponds to the “detection sensor” of the present invention.

  The target parking position setting unit 23 of the parking assist ECU 2 according to the second embodiment selects a parking frame based on a detection signal input from the reclining detection sensor 92. Specifically, when the target parking position setting unit 23 receives a detection signal indicating that the reclining angle is the first to fifth steps from the smaller of the ten steps, the parking frame detection unit 22 A parking frame in front of the detected parking frames is selected. On the other hand, when the detection signal indicating that the reclining angle is the sixth to the tenth step from the smaller one of the ten steps is input, the parking frame located behind the parking frame detected by the parking frame detection unit 22 Select.

  FIG. 4B shows a case where the driver is fixed in a state where the reclining angle is small (for example, 0 ° which is the smallest one of the 10 angles). In this case, since the distance D in the front-rear direction between the viewpoint of the driver and the left side camera 32 attached to the bottom surface of the left door mirror 102 is short, the field of view of the driver is relatively close to the field of view of the left side camera 32. Therefore, the parking frame that the driver sees (thinks to park) is likely to be the front parking frame among the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. The reclining detection sensor 92 detects the reclining angle of the driving seat 101 and outputs a detection signal indicating that the reclining angle is the first stage that is the smallest. And the target parking position setting part 23 selects the parking frame in front based on the input detection signal.

  FIG. 4 (c) shows a case where the driver is fixed in a state where the reclining angle is large (for example, the seventh step from the smallest of the ten step angles). In this case, since the distance D in the front-rear direction between the viewpoint of the driver and the left side camera 32 attached to the bottom surface of the left door mirror 102 is long, the driver's field of view and the field of view of the left side camera 32 are relatively far apart. ing. Therefore, the parking frame that the driver sees (thinks to park) is likely to be a rear parking frame among the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. The reclining detection sensor 92 detects the reclining angle of the driving seat 101 and outputs a detection signal indicating that the reclining angle is the seventh stage from the smallest reclining angle. And the target parking position setting part 23 selects the parking frame in the back based on the input detection signal.

  Note that the boundary between the selection of the front parking frame and the selection of the rear parking frame does not necessarily need to be the center of the change range of the reclining angle of the driving seat 101. For example, the front parking frame is selected in the case where the reclining angle of the driving seat 101 is the smallest one of the ten steps in the first to third steps, and the rear parking frame is selected in the fourth to the tenth steps from the smallest. A frame may be selected. The boundary may not be fixed. For example, the boundary may be changed according to the positional relationship between the two detected parking frames and the vehicle 1 (left side camera 32). For example, when the car 1 is positioned in front of the front parking frame, the parking frame desired by the driver is highly likely to be the front parking frame unless the reclining angle of the driving seat 101 is very large. Therefore, in this case, the front parking frame may be selected in the case of the first to seventh steps from the smallest, and the rear parking frame may be selected in the case of the eighth to tenth steps from the smallest. .

  In the second embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  The target parking position setting unit 23 is based on a detection signal input from the seat position detection sensor 91 and a detection signal input from the reclining detection sensor 92 by combining the first embodiment and the second embodiment. The target parking position may be set.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the parking assistance device according to the third embodiment. Fig.5 (a) is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle 1 "to which the parking assistance apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment was applied. In Fig.5 (a), the vehicle 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment (FIG. 1). 5B and 5C are diagrams for explaining a method for selecting a parking frame according to the third embodiment. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the vehicle 1 ″ includes an in-vehicle camera 35 instead of the seat position detecting sensor 91, and detects the position of the driver's head from an image obtained by photographing the driver with the in-vehicle camera 35. However, it differs from the vehicle 1 according to the first embodiment in that the target parking position is set according to the detected head position.

  As shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the in-vehicle camera 35 is disposed on the handle 103 and photographs the driver. As shown in FIG. 5B, when the driver wakes up and approaches the handle 103, the driver's head is displayed large in the image taken by the in-vehicle camera 35. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the driver places his / her body on the driving seat 101 and moves away from the handle 103, the driver's head is displayed small in the image taken by the in-vehicle camera 35. Therefore, it is possible to detect the position of the driver's head (the position in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body) from the ratio of the driver's head that processes the image captured by the in-vehicle camera 35 to make the entire image.

  The target parking position setting unit 23 of the parking assist ECU 2 according to the third embodiment detects the position of the driver's head from the image data input from the in-vehicle camera 35, and parks based on the detected position of the head of the driver. Select a frame. Specifically, the target parking position setting unit 23 selects a parking frame in front of the parking frame detected by the parking frame detection unit 22 when the detected driver's head position is closer to the front. On the other hand, when the position of the head is closer to the rear, the parking frame behind the parking frame detected by the parking frame detection unit 22 is selected. As in the first and second embodiments, the position of the head may be represented by, for example, 10 levels, and the parking frame may be selected according to the number of levels. The target parking position setting unit 23 indirectly detects the position of the driver's viewpoint by detecting the position of the driver's head based on the image data input from the in-vehicle camera 35. Therefore, in this embodiment, the in-vehicle camera 35 and the target parking position setting unit 23 correspond to the “detection sensor” of the present invention.

  FIG. 5B shows a case where the driver wakes up and looks forward for a parking frame. In this case, since the distance D in the front-rear direction between the viewpoint of the driver and the left side camera 32 attached to the bottom surface of the left door mirror 102 is short, the field of view of the driver is relatively close to the field of view of the left side camera 32. Therefore, the parking frame that the driver sees (thinks to park) is likely to be the front parking frame among the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. The target parking position setting unit 23 determines from the image data input from the in-vehicle camera 35 that the position of the driver's head is closer to the front, and selects a parking frame in front.

  FIG. 5C shows a case where the driver is looking for a parking frame with his / her body deeply attached to the driving seat 101. In this case, since the distance D in the front-rear direction between the viewpoint of the driver and the left side camera 32 attached to the bottom surface of the left door mirror 102 is long, the driver's field of view and the field of view of the left side camera 32 are relatively far apart. ing. Therefore, the parking frame that the driver sees (thinks to park) is likely to be a rear parking frame among the parking frames detected by the parking frame detection unit 22. The target parking position setting unit 23 determines from the image data input from the in-vehicle camera 35 that the position of the driver's head is closer to the rear, and selects a parking frame at the rear.

  As shown in FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C, even when the reclining angle of the driving seat 101 is the same, the driver looks forward and looks for a parking frame (see FIG. 5B). There is also a case where a parking frame is searched in a state where the body is deeply attached to the driving seat 101 (see FIG. 5C). Even if the position of the driving seat 101 is the same, some drivers sit shallowly and some sit deeply. In the third embodiment, since the position of the driver's head is directly detected regardless of the seat position and the reclining angle, the position of the driver's viewpoint can be grasped more accurately. Therefore, in the third embodiment, there is a higher possibility that the parking frame desired by the driver can be set as the target parking position.

  The in-vehicle camera 35 may be arranged at a place other than the handle 103 as long as it can capture the image of the driver. The method for detecting the position of the driver's head is not limited. The position of the driver's head may be detected from the stereoscopic view of the two cameras, or the driver may be detected from the side of the driver and detected from the position of the head in the captured image. Good. Further, an ultrasonic sensor or a radar may be used. Further, instead of detecting the position of the driver's head, the viewpoint position may be directly detected by detecting the position of the driver's eyes.

  In the said 1st thru | or 3rd Embodiment, although the parking frame detection part 22 detected two parking frames and demonstrated the case where the target parking position setting part 23 selects one parking frame from two parking frames, This is not the only reason. The parking frame detection unit 22 may detect three or more parking frames, and the target parking position setting unit 23 may select a parking frame from these parking frames.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example when the parking frame detection unit 22 detects three parking frames. In FIG. 6, since the width of the parking frame (the vertical dimension in the figure) is narrow, the parking frame desired by the driver with respect to the position of the car 1 can be any one of F1 to F3. There is sex. In this case, the parking frame detection unit 22 detects three parking frames F1 to F3, and the target parking position setting unit 23 selects a parking frame based on a detection signal input from the seat position detection sensor 91. To do. Specifically, the target parking position setting unit 23 receives a detection signal indicating that the position of the driving seat is the first or second stage from the front among the ten stages of arrangement positions. The parking frame F2 ahead of the parking frame detected by 22 is selected. Moreover, when the detection signal which shows that the position of a driving seat is the 3rd-8th step from the front is input, the parking frame F1 in the center among the parking frames which the parking frame detection part 22 detected is selected. Moreover, when the detection signal which shows that the position of a driving seat is the 9th-10th step from the front is input, the parking frame F3 which exists in the back among the parking frames which the parking frame detection part 22 detected is selected. The same applies to the second embodiment and the third embodiment.

  In addition, by combining the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the target parking position setting unit 23 is based on a detection signal input from the seat position detection sensor 91 and a detection signal input from the reclining detection sensor 92. And when setting a target parking position, what is necessary is just to select as follows, for example. That is, if the slide position is the 1st to 5th step from the front among the 10 positions, and the reclining angle is the 1st to 5th from the smallest of the 10 steps, the parking frame F2 is selected. To do. Further, when the slide position is the first to fifth steps from the front and the reclining angle is the sixth to tenth steps from the smallest reclining angle, or the slide position is the sixth to tenth steps from the front, and the reclining is performed. In the case of the first to fifth stages from the smallest angle, the parking frame F1 is selected. Further, when the slide position is the sixth to tenth steps from the front and the sixth to tenth steps from the smallest reclining angle, the parking frame F3 is selected.

  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, 1 ', 1 ": Car 2: Parking assistance ECU
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 35: In-vehicle camera 4: Various sensors 91: Seat position detection sensor 92: Reclining detection sensor 5: Operating device 6: Speaker 7: Display 8: EPS-ECU
101: Driving seat 101a: Seat cushion 101b: Seat back 102: Left door mirror 103: Handle

Claims (1)

Parking frame detection means for detecting a plurality of parking frames from an image input from an in-vehicle camera;
A detection sensor for detecting the viewpoint position of the driver;
Target parking position setting means for selecting a parking frame as a target parking position based on the viewpoint position detected by the detection sensor from among the plurality of parking frames detected by the parking frame detection means;
A parking assistance device comprising:

Images