JP2022007632A - Parking assist system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a parking assist system capable of allowing turning wheels to autonomously turn to a turning direction dependent on a situation where parking has been performed.SOLUTION: A parking assist system includes a positioning unit 15 that measures a present position of a vehicle, a parking decision unit 50 that decides whether a vehicle 40 has parked, a turning direction determination unit 53 that, when it is decided that the vehicle has parked, determines based on positioning information, which is sent from the positioning unit 15, whether the vehicle is turned with its turning wheels oriented to a roadside or a side opposite to the roadside, and a turning angle control unit 55 that controls the turning angle of the turning wheels so that the turning wheels will turn in the turning direction determined by the turning direction determination unit 53.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a parking support device.

The following Patent Document 1 describes a method of steering the tires of a vehicle toward the lane edge side at the end of parking so that the vehicle stops even if the vehicle starts rolling in a parking situation on a slope. ..

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-507829

By steering the steering wheel when parking, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from moving under its own weight on a slope, or to stop the vehicle even if it starts moving. Whether it is safer to steer the steering wheel toward the roadside or the opposite side depends on the situation in which the vehicle is parked.
The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a parking support device capable of automatically steering a steering wheel in a steering direction according to a parked situation.

In order to achieve the above object, the parking support device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a positioning unit for measuring the current position of the vehicle, a parking determination unit for determining whether or not the vehicle is parked, and a vehicle parked. When it is determined, the steering direction determination unit determines whether to steer the steering wheel of the vehicle toward the roadside or toward the side opposite to the roadside based on the positioning information from the positioning unit. And a steering angle control unit that controls the steering angle of the steering wheel so that the steering wheel steers in the steering direction determined by the steering direction determining unit.

According to the present invention, there is provided a parking support device capable of automatically steering a steering wheel in a steering direction according to a parked situation.

It is a block diagram which shows the outline of an example of the electric power steering apparatus of an embodiment. (A) to (c) are explanatory views of the operation of the electric power steering apparatus at the time of parking on a slope. It is a block diagram of the functional configuration example of a control unit 30. It is a flowchart of an example of the parking support method of an embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention shown below exemplify devices and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the technical idea of the present invention includes the configuration, arrangement, etc. of components. Is not specified as the following. The technical idea of the present invention may be modified in various ways within the technical scope specified by the claims described in the claims.

(Constitution)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the electric power steering (EPS) device of the embodiment. The steering shaft (steering shaft, steering wheel shaft) 2 of the steering handle 1 of the vehicle passes through the reduction gears (worm gears) 3, universal joints 4a and 4b, pinion rack mechanism 5, tie rods 6a, 6b constituting the reduction mechanism, and further. It is connected to the steering wheels 8L and 8R via the hub units 7a and 7b. Hereinafter, the steering wheels 8L and 8R may be collectively referred to as "turning wheels 8".

The pinion rack mechanism 5 has a pinion 5a connected to a pinion shaft to which steering force is transmitted from a universal joint 4b, and a rack 5b that meshes with the pinion 5a, and the rotational motion transmitted to the pinion 5a is transmitted to the rack 5b. Converts to a straight motion in the vehicle width direction.
The steering shaft 2 is provided with a torque sensor 10 that detects the steering torque Th. Further, the steering shaft 2 is provided with a steering angle sensor 11 that detects the steering angle θh of the steering wheel 1.

Further, the vehicle includes a vehicle speed sensor 12, a wheel speed sensor 13, a vehicle sensor 14, a positioning device 15, a map database (map DB) 16, an object detection sensor 17, a shift position sensor 18, and a mode switch ( A mode SW) 19 is provided.
The vehicle speed sensor 12 detects the vehicle speed Vv, which is the traveling speed of the vehicle. The wheel speed sensor 13 detects the wheel speed Vw of the steering wheel 8 and the remaining wheels. The vehicle speed Vv may be determined based on the wheel speed Vw.

The vehicle sensor 14 detects the behavior of the vehicle. The vehicle sensor 14 includes a 3-axis acceleration sensor (G sensor) that detects acceleration (including deceleration) in the 3-axis direction of the vehicle, a gyro sensor that detects an angular velocity generated in the vehicle, and a yaw rate sensor that detects yaw rate. good.
The posture of the vehicle, which will be described later, may be detected based on the behavior of the vehicle detected by the vehicle sensor 14. When the vehicle is stopped, the direction of the gravitational acceleration acting on the vehicle depends on whether the vehicle is in a horizontal state, the vehicle is facing upward, or the vehicle is facing downward. different. That is, the posture of the vehicle can be determined using the detection value of the 3-axis accelerometer.
The positioning device 15 measures the current position of the vehicle. The positioning device 15 includes, for example, a global positioning system (GNSS) receiver, and receives radio waves from a plurality of navigation satellites to measure the current position of the vehicle.

The GNSS receiver may be, for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or the like. Further, the positioning device 15 may measure the current position of the vehicle by inertial navigation or odometry.
The positioning device 15 outputs positioning information indicating the measurement result of the current position of the vehicle. The positioning information may include the altitude information of the vehicle and the measurement result of the posture of the vehicle (that is, the direction of the vehicle, the front-rear direction).
The positioning device 15 may detect the position information of at least two places of the vehicle. The positioning device 15 includes two antennas (not shown) for receiving positioning signals, and each antenna can be arranged at a distant position. For example, one antenna can be placed in the first position and the other antenna can be placed in the second position behind the vehicle from the first position. By arranging the antennas in this way, the current positions of the first position and the second position can be detected, respectively. The posture information of the vehicle can be determined based on the current position of the first position and the current position of the second position. For example, if the altitude of the first position is greater than the altitude of the second position, it can be determined that the vehicle is facing up. Further, for example, when the altitude of the first position is smaller than the altitude of the second position, it can be determined that the vehicle is facing downward.

Road map information for car navigation is stored in the map database (map DB) 16. High-precision map data suitable for automatic driving control may be stored. Map information includes slope information for road slopes and rule information for rules (eg ordinances and laws) that apply to parking in a particular geographic area (eg, region, area, state, province, country, etc.). May be good.

The rules that apply to parking are, for example, rules that require the wheels to be steered while parking on a slope (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "steering when parking"), or on the roadside in a designated section. It may include rules prohibiting parking.
Further, the map information may include altitude information indicating the altitude at each point.
The map information and the rule information may be acquired by wireless communication via a public mobile phone network, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, satellite communication, or the like.

The object detection sensor 17 detects an object around the vehicle and the direction and distance to the object. The object detection sensor 17 may be a range-finding sensor such as a laser radar, a millimeter-wave radar, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), a camera, or the like.
The shift position sensor 18 detects the position of the shift lever (shift position).

The mode switch 19 is operated by a vehicle occupant (for example, a driver) and is a switch for switching on and off of parking support control using an electric power steering device.
Parking support control is a control that automatically executes steering during parking when parallel parking on a slope. The details of parking support control will be described later.

A motor 21 that generates a steering assisting force that assists the steering of the steering wheel 1 is connected to the steering shaft 2 via a reduction gear 3. The means for applying the steering assist force is not limited to the motor, and various types of actuators can be used.
The EPS controller 20 is an electronic control unit (ECU) that controls an electric power steering device.

The EPS controller 20 calculates the current command value of the assist control command based on the steering torque Th detected by the torque sensor 10 and the vehicle speed Vv detected by the vehicle speed sensor 12, and compensates the current command value. The current supplied to the motor 21 is controlled by the applied voltage control command value.
The rotation angle sensor 22 detects the rotation angle of the rotation axis of the motor 21. The EPS controller 20 measures the steering angle θt of the steering wheel 8 based on the rotation angle detected by the rotation angle sensor 22.

The control unit 30 is an electronic control unit that executes parking support control using an electric power steering device. The control unit 30 may be a dedicated electronic control unit for parking support control, or may be a unit integrated with another electronic control unit (for example, EPS controller 20) mounted on the vehicle.
The positioning device 15, the object detection sensor 17, the mode switch 19, the EPS controller 20, and the control unit 30 form the parking support device of the embodiment. The positioning device 15 is an example of the “positioning unit” described in the claims.

The control unit 30 may include, for example, a computer including a processor and peripheral components such as a storage device. The processor may be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit).
The storage device may include any of a semiconductor storage device, a magnetic storage device, and an optical storage device. The storage device may include a memory such as a register, a cache memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) used as the main storage device.
Further, the control unit 30 may be provided with a user interface (user I / F) 31 for presenting an auditory signal or a visual signal to the occupant. The control unit 30 can output an alarm to the occupant via the user interface 31.

The function of the control unit 30 described below is realized, for example, by the processor of the control unit 30 executing a computer program stored in the storage device.
The control unit 30 may be formed by dedicated hardware for executing each information processing described below.
For example, the control unit 30 may include a functional logic circuit set in a general-purpose semiconductor integrated circuit. For example, the control unit 30 may have a programmable logic device (PLD: Programmable Logic Device) such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

Next, the outline of the parking support control by the control unit 30 will be described. Refer to (a) of FIG. 2 to (c) of FIG.
When the control unit 30 determines that the vehicle 40 is parked, the control unit 30 acquires positioning information from the positioning device 15. Further, the control unit 30 detects the curb 42 of the roadside 41 based on the output signal of the object detection sensor 17.

The control unit 30 determines whether the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the positioning information. In FIG. 2, the U direction indicates the upward direction of the slope, the D direction indicates the downward direction of the slope, the W direction indicates the sidewalk direction, and the R direction indicates the road side. FIG. 2A shows a case where the vehicle 40 is parked on a downhill, and FIGS. 2B and 2C show a case where the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill.
Here, the uphill means a slope in which the height position in the traveling direction of the vehicle is higher than the height position in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the vehicle. Further, the downhill refers to a slope in which the height position in the traveling direction of the vehicle is lower than the height position in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the vehicle.
The control unit 30 either steers the steering wheel 8 toward the roadside 41 or faces the opposite side of the roadside 41, depending on whether the vehicle 40 is parked uphill or downhill. Decide whether to steer.

When the vehicle 40 is parked on a downhill, the steering direction is determined so that the steering wheel 8 is steered toward the roadside 41 as shown in FIG. 2A.
As a result, for example, even if the occupant forgets to apply the parking brake, the steering wheel 8 comes into contact with the roadside 41 to prevent the vehicle 40 from moving under its own weight, or the vehicle 40 can be stopped even if it starts moving. ..

On the other hand, when the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill, the control unit 30 further steers the steering wheel 8 toward the roadside 41 depending on whether or not there is a curb 42 on the roadside 41. Decide whether to steer or steer toward the opposite side of the roadside 41.
When there is a curb 42 on the roadside 41, the steering direction is determined so that the steering wheel 8 is steered toward the side opposite to the roadside 41 as shown in FIG. 2B. As a result, the steering wheel 8 comes into contact with the roadside 41 to prevent the vehicle 40 from moving under its own weight, or even if the vehicle 40 starts to move, it can be stopped.

On the other hand, when there is no curb 42 on the roadside 41, the steering direction is determined so that the steering wheel 8 is steered toward the roadside 41 as shown in FIG. 2 (c).
This makes it possible to prevent the vehicle 40 from moving toward the roadway even if it starts to move under its own weight.
The control unit 30 drives the motor 21 on the EPS controller 20 to steer the steering wheel 8 in the determined steering direction to the target steering angle θd.
As described above, by automatically steering the steering wheel 8 in the steering direction according to the parked situation, the vehicle 40 can be parked on the slope more safely. In addition, it is possible to prevent non-performance of parking steering in a geographical range where there are rules that require parking steering on slopes.

Subsequently, the function of the control unit 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The control unit 30 has vehicle speed Vv information, wheel speed Vw information, positioning information, map information, and shift position information from the vehicle speed sensor 12, the wheel speed sensor 13, the positioning device 15, the map database 16, and the shift position sensor 18, respectively. Read the information.
Further, the control unit 30 detects the on / off of the mode switch 19.

Further, the control unit 30 reads the detection signals of the acceleration sensor, the gyro sensor, and the yaw rate sensor of the vehicle sensor 14.
Further, the control unit 30 reads the image signal of the object around the vehicle 40 from the camera of the object detection sensor 17, and reads the distance measurement information of the object around the vehicle 40 from the distance measuring sensor.

The control unit 30 includes a parking determination unit 50, a curb detection unit 51, a propriety determination unit 52, a steering direction determination unit 53, a steering angle determination unit 54, a steering angle control unit 55, and an engine control unit. 56 and an alarm generation unit 57 are provided.
The parking determination unit 50 determines whether or not the vehicle 40 is parked on the roadside 41. The parking determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 40 is parked, for example, when the vehicle speed Vv or the wheel speed Vw is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed (for example, zero km / h) and the shift position is parking.

The parking determination unit 50 may determine whether or not the parking position of the vehicle 40 is the roadside 41 based on, for example, positioning information and map information. For example, the parking determination unit 50 may determine that the vehicle 40 has stopped at the roadside 41 when the distance between the roadside 41 closest to the vehicle 40 and the vehicle 40 is equal to or less than the threshold value.
Further, for example, it may be determined whether or not the parking position of the vehicle 40 is the roadside 41 based on the image signal of the object around the vehicle 40. For example, the roadside 41 may be recognized by performing image recognition processing on the image signals of objects around the vehicle 40.

The curb detection unit 51 detects the curb 42 on the roadside 41. For example, the curb detection unit 51 may recognize the curb 42 on the roadside 41 by performing image recognition processing on the image signal of an object around the vehicle 40.
The curb detection unit 51 detects the distance from the vehicle 40 to the curb 42 based on the distance measurement information obtained by detecting the object recognized as the curb 42 by the image recognition process with the distance measurement sensor. Since the detection range of the radar and LIDAR is narrow, if there is an object for which distance measurement information has been obtained, this object may be regarded as a curb 42.

When the parking determination unit 50 determines that the vehicle 40 is parked on the roadside 41, the possibility determination unit 52 determines whether or not to execute the parking support control, that is, whether or not to execute the parking steering on a slope. do.
For example, the propriety determination unit 52 determines that the parking support control is executed when the parking position of the vehicle 40 is on a slope and the mode switch 19 is on. The possibility determination unit 52 may allow parking support control when the inclination of the parking position of the vehicle 40 is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

The propriety determination unit 52 may determine the slope and its slope based on, for example, positioning information and slope information of map information.
Further, for example, the pass / fail determination unit 52 may determine the slope based on the change in the altitude information of the positioning information until the vehicle 40 parks. The pass / fail determination unit 52 may determine the slope of the slope based on the change in altitude information and the change in horizontal position until the vehicle 40 parks.
Further, for example, the pass / fail determination unit 52 may determine the slope and its inclination based on the detection signals of the acceleration sensor and the yaw rate sensor of the vehicle sensor 14.

Further, for example, the propriety determination unit 52 may determine that the parking support control is not performed according to the rules applied to parking at the parking position, based on the rule information of the positioning information and the map information.
For example, the propriety determination unit 52 may determine that the parking support control is performed when the parking position is obliged to steer when parking on a slope, and if it is not obligatory, the parking support control is not performed. good.

Further, the possibility determination unit 52 may determine that the parking support control is not performed when parking is prohibited at the parking position.
For example, the rule information of the map information may include information on the color and sign of the curb 42 that prohibits parking in a specific geographical area (eg, region, area, state, prefecture, country, etc.).
The possibility determination unit 52 may detect the color of the curb 42 based on the image signal of the curb 42, and may determine whether parking is prohibited at the current position of the vehicle 40 based on the color of the curb 42. Further, the propriety determination unit 52 may recognize the sign from the image signal around the roadside 41 and determine whether or not parking is prohibited.

When the possibility determination unit 52 determines that the parking support control is performed, the steering direction determination unit 53 either steers the steering wheel 8 toward the roadside 41 or steers toward the side opposite to the roadside 41. It is determined based on the detection result of the curb 42 by the curb detection unit 51 and the positioning information.
Specifically, the steering direction determination unit 53 determines whether the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the positioning information.

When the vehicle 40 is parked on a downhill, the steering direction determining unit 53 steers the steering wheel 8 toward the roadside 41 as shown in FIG. 2A. Determine the direction.
When the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill and the curb 42 is on the roadside 41, the steering wheel 8 is directed to the opposite side of the roadside 41 as shown in FIG. 2B. Determine the steering direction to steer.
When the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill and there is no curb 42 on the roadside 41, the steering wheel 8 is steered toward the roadside 41 as shown in FIG. 2 (c). To determine the steering direction.

The steering direction determination unit 53 determines whether the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the positioning information.
For example, the steering direction determination unit 53 may make a determination based on the positioning information and the gradient information of the map information. For example, the steering direction determination unit 53 determines the direction of the vehicle 40 (that is, the front direction of the vehicle 40) based on the change (that is, the position change) of the positioning information until the vehicle 40 parks, and the direction and the gradient of the vehicle 40. Based on the information, it may be determined whether the vehicle 40 is parked uphill or downhill.

The steering direction determination unit 53 may determine whether the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the attitude information and the gradient information of the vehicle 40 included in the positioning information.
Further, for example, the steering direction determination unit 53 may determine whether the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the change in the altitude information of the positioning information until the vehicle 40 is parked. good.
Further, for example, the steering direction determination unit 53 may determine whether the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the detection signals of the acceleration sensor and the yaw rate sensor of the vehicle sensor 14. ..

When the possibility determination unit 52 determines that the parking support control is performed, the steering angle determination unit 54 determines the absolute value of the target steering angle θd for steering the steering wheel 8 in the parking support control.
At this time, if the tire of the steering wheel 8 hits the curb 42, the tire may be damaged.
Further, when the steering angle reaches the end contact position, the pinion rack mechanism 5 may be damaged. The end contact position is a position where the absolute value of the steering angle θt cannot be increased any more, and is, for example, a position where the rack axis of the pinion rack mechanism 5 reaches the stroke end.

Therefore, the turning angle determining unit 54 calculates the absolute value of the maximum turning angle at which the turning wheel on the roadside 41 side does not come into contact with the curb 42, based on the position information of the curb 42 detected by the curb detecting unit 51.
The steering angle determination unit 54 determines the smaller of the calculated absolute value of the maximum steering angle and the preset steering angle according to the end contact position as the absolute value of the target steering angle θd. do. This set steering angle may be, for example, a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined margin angle from the absolute value of the steering angle at the end contact position.

The steering angle control unit 55 outputs a steering command for driving the motor 21 so that the steering wheel 8 is steered to the EPS controller 20, and changes the steering angle θt of the steering wheel 8 to the target steering angle θd. do.
Specifically, the steering angle control unit 55 acquires the steering angle θt of the steering wheel 8 measured based on the rotation angle of the motor 21 detected by the rotation angle sensor 22 from the EPS controller 20.

In the steering angle control unit 55, the steering wheel 8 steers in the steering direction determined by the steering direction determination unit 53, and the absolute value of the steering angle θt of the steering wheel 8 is determined by the steering angle determination unit 54. The steering angle θt is controlled so as to be an absolute value of the determined target steering angle θd.
The steering angle control unit 55 may calculate the steering angle θt based on the steering angle θh detected by the steering angle sensor 11.

The steering angle control unit 55 may start steering the steering wheel 8 at any of the following timings (A) to (D), for example.
(A) After a predetermined time has passed from the time when the shift position was changed to parking (B) When the ignition switch was turned off (C) When the occupant got off and received the key lock command (D) When parking When the occupant performs the prescribed operation to steer

If the torque sensor 10 detects an excessive steering torque Th while the steering angle is being changed by the parking assist control, the occupant may interfere with the steering wheel 1.
Therefore, when the torque sensor 10 detects an excessive steering torque Th during the control of the steering angle in the parking assist control, the steering angle control unit 55 (for example, when the absolute value of the steering torque Th is equal to or larger than the threshold value). In addition, parking support control may be stopped. In this case, the steering angle control unit 55 may return the steering angle of the steering wheel 8 to the angle before executing the parking support control. Alternatively, it may be returned to the neutral position.

Further, the steering angle control unit 55 is set to the neutral position when the parking of the vehicle 40 is completed (that is, when the engine of the vehicle 40 is restarted or the ignition switch of the vehicle 40 is changed from off to on). The steering angle of the steering wheel 8 may be controlled so as to be.
The start time of the control for returning the steering angle of the steering wheel 8 to the neutral position is, for example, the time when the engine is restarted, the time when the ignition switch of the vehicle 40 changes from off to on, the operation of the shift lever or the brake pedal, etc. It may be the time when some kind of steering by the occupant is detected, and the user may arbitrarily set whether to return at any of these timings.

Instead of the steering angle control unit 55 controlling the steering angle, the EPS controller 20 may control the steering angle in the parking support control. In this case, the control unit 30 has a steering command signal including information on the steering direction determined by the steering direction determining unit 53 and information on the absolute value of the target steering angle θd determined by the steering angle determining unit 54. May be output to the EPS controller 20. In the EPS controller 20, the steering wheel 8 steers in the steering direction included in the steering command signal, and the absolute value of the steering angle θt of the steering wheel 8 becomes the steering angle included in the steering command signal. The steering angle may be controlled as such.

Further, the steering of the steering wheel 8 by the motor 21 involves the power consumption of the battery mounted on the vehicle 40. Therefore, even if the ignition switch of the vehicle 40 is turned off, the engine control unit 56 operates the engine of the vehicle 40 until the parking support control is completed (that is, until the steering of the steering wheel 8 is completed). Stopping may be prohibited (ie, the engine of vehicle 40 may be kept running).

Depending on the remaining capacity (SoC: State Of Charge) of the vehicle-mounted battery, the steering wheel 8 may be steered while the engine is stopped as long as the battery is sufficiently charged. Therefore, the engine control unit 56 prohibits the engine of the vehicle 40 from stopping until the parking support control is completed when the remaining capacity of the vehicle-mounted battery is less than the threshold value, and the parking support when the remaining capacity of the vehicle-mounted battery is equal to or more than the threshold value. You may allow the engine to stop during control.

The alarm generation unit 57 generates an alarm when performing parking support control and outputs it from the user interface 31.
For example, an alarm may be generated to notify the occupant that the steering wheel 1 rotates with the parking support control. This makes it possible to prevent the rotating steering wheel 1 from interfering with the occupant. For example, the alarm generation unit 57 determines that the occupant is in contact with the steering handle 1 when the absolute value of the steering torque Th detected by the torque sensor 10 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, and the steering handle 1 rotates. May generate an alarm to inform.

Further, for example, the alarm generation unit 57 generates an alarm informing the occupant that the vehicle 40 is too close to the curb 42 and the steering cannot be performed during parking in order to avoid contact between the tire and the curb 42. May be good. Further, since the absolute value of the maximum steering angle at which the steering wheel does not contact the curb 42 is smaller than the predetermined lower limit value and the target steering angle θd is less than the lower limit value, the steering wheel 8 cannot be sufficiently steered. An alarm may be generated to inform the occupants.
Further, for example, when the object detection sensor 17 detects an object (person or object) outside the vehicle existing around the steering wheel 8, the alarm generation unit 57 determines that the steering wheel 8 interferes with this object. In order to prevent this, an alarm may be generated to notify the occupant that the steering wheel 8 is steering or that an object is present near the steering wheel 8.

Further, for example, the alarm generation unit 57 may generate an alarm informing the occupant that the operation of advancing or updating the vehicle 40 is prohibited after the steering angle of the steering wheel 8 is changed by the parking support control.
Further, for example, the warning generation unit 57 does not execute parking support control due to a rule prohibiting parking on the roadside, or does not execute parking support control because steering during parking on a slope is not obligatory. An alarm may be generated to inform the occupants of this.

Although the case where the parking support device of the present invention is realized in the vehicle provided with the electric power steering device has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto. The parking support device of the present invention can be realized if it has an actuator capable of steering the steering wheel, a positioning function, and a curb detection function.
For example, instead of the electric power steering device, a steering mechanism (FFA: ForceFeedbackActuator, steering reaction force generator) that accepts steering operations by the driver, and a steering mechanism (RWA: RoadWheelActuator, tire steering device) that steers the wheels. The parking support device of the present invention may be realized in a vehicle provided with a steering device of a steering by wire (SBW) type that is mechanically separated from the steering wheel.

(motion)
Next, parking support control by the electric power steering device of the embodiment will be described. See FIG.
In step S1, the parking determination unit 50 determines whether or not the vehicle 40 is parked on the roadside 41. When the vehicle 40 is parked on the roadside 41 (step S1: Y), the process proceeds to step S2. The process ends when the vehicle 40 is not parked on the roadside 41 (step S1: N).

In step S2, the approval / disapproval determination unit 52 determines whether or not to execute the parking support control. When the parking support control is executed (step S2: Y), the process proceeds to step S3. The process ends when the parking support control is not executed (step S2: N).
In step S3, the positioning device 15 measures the current position of the vehicle 40. In step S4, the control unit 30 reads the map information around the current position of the vehicle 40 from the map database 16.

In step S5, the curb detection unit 51 detects the presence or absence of the curb 42 on the roadside 41.
In step S6, the steering direction determination unit 53 steers the steering wheel 8 toward the roadside 41 or is on the opposite side of the roadside 41 based on the detection result of the curb 42 by the curb detection unit 51 and the positioning information. Decide whether to steer towards.
In step S7, the steering angle determination unit 54 determines the absolute value of the target steering angle θd for steering the steering wheel 8 in the parking support control.

In step S8, the alarm generation unit 57 generates an alarm associated with the parking support control as necessary and outputs it from the user interface 31.
In step S9, in the steering angle control unit 55, the steering wheel 8 steers in the steering direction determined by the steering direction determination unit 53, and the absolute value of the steering angle θt of the steering wheel 8 determines the steering angle. The motor 21 is rotated so as to have an absolute value of the target steering angle θd determined by the unit 54.

In step S10, the steering angle control unit 55 determines whether or not the torque sensor 10 has detected an excessive steering torque Th. When an excessive steering torque Th is detected (step S10: Y), the process proceeds to step S11. When the excessive steering torque Th is not detected (step S10: N), the process proceeds to step S12.
In step S11, the steering angle control unit 55 stops the parking support control and returns the steering angle θt of the steering wheel 8 to the angle before the parking support control is executed. Alternatively, return to the neutral position. After that, the process ends.

In step S12, the steering angle control unit 55 determines whether or not the steering during parking is completed. That is, the steering wheel 8 steers in the steering direction determined by the steering direction determination unit 53, and the absolute value of the steering angle θt of the steering wheel 8 is the target steering angle determined by the steering angle determination unit 54. It is determined whether or not the absolute value of θd is reached.
When the steering at the time of parking is not completed (step S12: N), the process returns to step S9. The process ends when the steering during parking is completed (step S12: Y).

(Effect of embodiment)
(1) The parking support device includes a positioning device 15 that measures the current position of the vehicle 40, a parking determination unit 50 that determines whether or not the vehicle 40 is parked, and a vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle 40 is parked. A steering direction determination unit 53 that determines whether to steer the steering wheel of 40 toward the roadside 41 or toward the side opposite to the roadside 41 based on the positioning information from the positioning unit. A steering angle control unit 55 that controls the steering angle of the steering wheel 8 is provided so that the steering wheel 8 steers in the steering direction determined by the steering direction determining unit 53.

As a result, the steering wheel 8 can be automatically steered in the steering direction according to the parked situation. By automatically steering the steering wheel 8 in the steering direction according to the parked situation, the vehicle 40 can be parked on a slope more safely. In addition, it is possible to prevent non-performance of parking steering in a geographical range where there are rules that require parking steering on slopes.

(2) The steering direction determination unit 53 determines whether the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the positioning information from the positioning device 15, and the vehicle 40 is parked on the uphill. The steering direction may be determined depending on whether the vehicle is parked on a downhill or downhill. The steering direction determining unit 53 may further determine the steering direction depending on whether or not there is a curb on the roadside.
This makes it possible to determine the steering direction according to the parking situation.

(3) The steering direction determination unit 53 determines whether the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the position change of the vehicle 40 until the vehicle 40 is parked and the map information. You can do it.
The steering direction determination unit 53 may determine whether the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the altitude change of the vehicle 40 until the vehicle 40 is parked.
The steering direction determination unit 53 may determine whether the vehicle 40 is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the attitude information indicating the attitude of the vehicle 40 and the map information. The posture information may be detected by the vehicle sensor 14 that detects the behavior of the vehicle 40, or may be detected by the positioning device 15.
This makes it possible to determine whether the vehicle 40 is parked uphill or downhill.

(4) A propriety determination unit 52 for determining whether or not the steering angle of the steering wheel 8 can be controlled by the steering angle control unit 55 may be further provided based on the positioning information and the map information. As a result, it is possible to avoid unnecessarily executing parking support control in a place where steering is not required during parking on a slope or in a section where parking is prohibited.
For example, the propriety determination unit 52 determines whether or not the steering wheel 8 can be controlled by the steering angle control unit 55 according to the color of the curb on the roadside or the recognition result of the sign provided on the roadside. It's okay.

(5) The smaller of the curb detection unit 51 that detects the position of the curb 42 on the roadside 41, the maximum steering angle at which the steering wheel 8 does not contact the curb 42, or the preset steering angle. A steering angle determining unit 54 that determines the target steering angle θd may be provided. The steering angle control unit 55 may control the steering angle of the steering wheel 8 so as to have a target steering angle θd. As a result, it is possible to prevent the steering wheel 8 and the steering mechanism from being damaged by the parking support control.

(6) An engine control unit 56 that prohibits the operation of the engine of the vehicle 40 from being stopped may be further provided until the control of the steering wheel 8 by the steering angle control unit 55 is completed.
This can prevent a decrease in the remaining capacity of the in-vehicle battery.
(7) In the steering angle control unit 55, after the steering wheel 8 is steered in the steering direction determined by the steering direction determination unit 53, the engine of the vehicle 40 is restarted or the ignition switch of the vehicle 40 is turned on. The steering angle of the steering wheel 8 may be controlled so as to be in the neutral position when changing from off to on.
As a result, it is possible to save the labor of the occupant to return the position of the steering wheel 1 when the vehicle 40 is restarted after parking.

1 ... Steering handle, 2 ... Steering shaft, 3 ... Reduction gear, 4a, 4b ... Universal joint, 5 ... Pinion rack mechanism, 5a ... Pinion, 5b ... Rack, 6a, 6b ... Tie rod, 7a, 7b ... Hub unit, 8L, 8R ... Steering wheel, 10 ... Torque sensor, 11 ... Steering angle sensor, 12 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 13 ... Wheel speed sensor, 14 ... Vehicle sensor, 15 ... Positioning device, 16 ... Map database, 17 ... Object detection sensor, 18 ... shift position sensor, 19 ... mode switch, 20 ... EPS controller, 21 ... motor, 22 ... rotation angle sensor, 30 ... control unit, 31 ... user interface, 50 ... parking determination unit, 51 ... edge stone detection unit, 52 ... Possibility determination unit, 53 ... Steering direction determination unit, 54 ... Steering angle determination unit, 55 ... Steering angle control unit, 56 ... Engine control unit, 57 ... Alarm generation unit

Claims (13)

A positioning unit that measures the current position of the vehicle and
A parking determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is parked, and
When it is determined that the vehicle is parked, the positioning information from the positioning unit determines whether the steering wheel of the vehicle is steered toward the roadside or the side opposite to the roadside. The steering direction determination unit that determines based on
A steering angle control unit that controls the steering angle of the steering wheel so that the steering wheel steers in the steering direction determined by the steering direction determining unit.
A parking support device characterized by being equipped with. The steering direction determination unit is
Based on the positioning information from the positioning unit, it is determined whether the vehicle is parked on an uphill or a downhill.
The steering direction is determined according to whether the vehicle is parked uphill or downhill.
The parking support device according to claim 1. The steering direction determining unit determines whether the vehicle is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the position change of the vehicle until the vehicle is parked and the map information. The parking support device according to claim 2, wherein the parking support device is characterized. The steering direction determining unit is characterized in that it determines whether the vehicle is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the altitude change of the vehicle until the vehicle is parked. Item 2. The parking support device according to item 2. The steering direction determining unit is characterized in that it determines whether the vehicle is parked on an uphill or a downhill based on the attitude information representing the attitude of the vehicle and the map information. Item 2. The parking support device according to item 2. The parking support device according to claim 5, wherein the posture information is detected by a vehicle sensor that detects the behavior of the vehicle. The parking support device according to claim 5, wherein the posture information is detected by the positioning unit. The parking support device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the steering direction determining unit further determines the steering direction depending on whether or not there is a curb on the roadside. .. Any of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a propriety determination unit for determining whether or not the steering angle of the steering wheel can be controlled by the steering angle control unit based on the positioning information and the map information. The parking support device described in item 1. The propriety determination unit determines whether or not the steering angle of the steering wheel can be controlled by the steering angle control unit according to the color of the curb on the roadside or the recognition result of the sign provided on the roadside. The parking support device according to claim 9. A curb detection unit that detects the position of the curb on the roadside,
It is provided with a steering angle determining unit that determines the maximum steering angle at which the steering wheel does not come into contact with the curb, or a preset steering angle, whichever is smaller, as the target steering angle.
The parking support device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the steering angle control unit controls the steering angle of the steering wheel so as to be the target steering angle. The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising an engine control unit that prohibits the operation of the engine of the vehicle from being stopped until the control of the steering wheel by the steering angle control unit is completed. Parking support device. In the steering angle control unit, after the steering wheel is steered in the steering direction determined by the steering direction determination unit, the engine of the vehicle is restarted or the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on from off. The parking support device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the steering angle of the steering wheel is controlled so as to be in a neutral position when the vehicle changes to.

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