JP5262368B2 - Parking assistance device and parking assistance method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a parking assistance device and a parking assistance method for calculating a parking route of a vehicle and supporting a parking operation.

Conventionally, various parking assistance devices that support the parking operation of a vehicle have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the parking assistance device described in Patent Literature 1, when the parking target position is set, the parking direction from the current position of the vehicle to the set target position is the vehicle direction at the current position and the target position. The basic route that makes the deviation from the vehicle direction zero is enlarged in a similar manner, a route with straight lines added before and after it is calculated, and the vehicle is guided to the target position along the calculated parking route.
Japanese Patent No. 3818653

  However, the parking assist device described in Patent Document 1 does not assume that the parking is turned back during the parking process, and calculates a parking route that reaches the target position only by moving forward or backward from the current position. Therefore, for example, when the deviation between the vehicle direction at the current position and the vehicle direction at the target position is large, an appropriate parking route cannot be calculated. Therefore, in such a case, it is required to start parking assistance after moving the vehicle to a position where an appropriate parking route can be calculated. The driving operation of moving the vehicle to a position where it can be calculated is cumbersome and burdens the driver.

  The present invention was devised to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and by calculating a series of parking routes including turning back and providing parking assistance, the burden on the vehicle driver is further increased. An object of the present invention is to provide a parking support apparatus and a parking support method that can be further reduced.

The present invention detects an initial parking position and a vehicle direction at the initial position, a parking target position and a vehicle direction at the target position, and a vehicle path from the initial position according to the vehicle direction at the initial position. Is set as the first movement route, and the route that can be set as the route of the vehicle that reaches the target position according to the vehicle direction at the target position is the second movement route. And a range in which a position serving as a contact point with the second movement path can exist. At this time, a position that is a contact point between the first movement route and the second movement route, and a range in which the direction of the tangent line coincides with the direction designated by the vehicle occupant as the vehicle direction at the turn-back position may exist. Is calculated. Then, the position selected within the range is determined as a turn-back position for turning back in the process of moving the vehicle from the initial position to the target position, and the target position is passed from the initial position via the turn-back position. A series of routes reaching to is calculated as a parking route.

  According to the present invention, a turn-back position for turning back is determined in the process of the vehicle moving from the initial position to the target position, and a series of routes reaching the target position from the initial position via this turn-back position is calculated as a parking route. Thus, the burden on the vehicle driver can be further reduced.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Outline of the present invention]
First, an outline of the present invention will be described. The parking assistance device of the present invention calculates a route having only one turning point in the middle of the route as a parking route from the current position to the target position to be parked, and provides parking assistance according to the calculated parking route. As shown in FIG. 1A, it is basically provided with three functional components, that is, a position detection unit 1, a return position determination unit 2, and a parking route calculation unit 3. .

  In the position detection unit 1, the initial position of parking (current position) and the vehicle direction at the initial position (hereinafter referred to as initial posture), the target position of parking and the vehicle direction at the target position (hereinafter referred to as parking posture). Is detected. For the initial position and initial posture, the current position and orientation of the vehicle may be used as the initial position and initial posture as they are. Further, the target position and the parking posture may be grasped as a relative position / posture with respect to the initial position and the initial posture. For example, detection of a white line indicating a parking frame or parked vehicle using various sensor information such as an in-vehicle camera and a sonar What is necessary is to detect a space where parking is possible by integration such as detection of a wall or the like, and to set the position as a target position and the longitudinal direction of the space as a parking posture. In addition, information from an infrastructure facility that provides information on a vacant parking space may be acquired to detect a target position and a parking posture, or an image captured by an in-vehicle camera may be displayed to display this image. The position and direction designated by the vehicle occupant may be set as the target position and the parking posture.

  In the switching position determination unit 2, a route that can be set as a vehicle route from the initial position according to the initial posture is a first movement route, and a route that can be set as the vehicle route to the target position according to the parking posture is a second route. A range (hereinafter referred to as a candidate area) in which a position serving as a contact point between the first movement path and the second movement path can be calculated when the movement path is set, and a certain point in the candidate area is cut back. It is determined as the turn-back position that becomes the point of. Here, the first movement path and the second movement path are paths on the premise that the steering operation is performed only once. Specifically, the first movement path and the second movement path are curves obtained by enlarging similar approximation curves of a predetermined basic movement path. A route with a straight line added to the front or back.

  The candidate area calculated by the turn-back position determination unit 2 is narrowed if a vehicle direction at the turn-back position (hereinafter referred to as a turn-back posture) is determined, and a condition that the direction of the tangent line matches the turn-back posture is added. It will be. Therefore, for example, the return position determination unit 2 may determine the return posture before calculating the candidate region, and may calculate a range limited according to this return posture as the candidate region. As a method for determining the turning posture, the turning position determining unit 2 may decide an arbitrary angle as a turning posture among the selectable angles, or by causing the vehicle occupant to designate the angle, and specifying the angle. The angle thus determined may be determined as the turning posture.

  In addition, as a method for determining the return position in the candidate area, the return position determination unit 2 may automatically select an arbitrary position in the candidate area and determine the position as the return position. The position selected by the vehicle occupant in the candidate area may be determined as the turn-back position. When the vehicle occupant selects the turn-back position, the candidate area calculated by the turn-back position determination unit 2 is displayed as a functional component of the parking assistance device as shown in FIG. A candidate area presenting section 4 to be presented may be added so that the vehicle occupant can select a switching position among the candidate areas presented by the candidate area presenting section 4. In addition, when automatically selecting a turn-back position, as shown in FIG. 1C, an obstacle detection unit 5 that detects obstacles around the vehicle is added as a functional component of the parking assistance device. In the candidate area, it is desirable to select a contact position at which the first movement route and the second movement route are in contact with each other without interfering with the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection unit 5 as the turn-back position. Obstacles may be detected by, for example, a method of detecting an object by performing image processing on an image captured by an in-vehicle camera, or detecting an object by a sonar sensor or the like.

  The parking route calculation unit 3 calculates, as the parking route, a series of routes that reach the target position after starting from the initial position (current position) and returning to the return position. This parking route is a route that is uniquely determined by determining the return position (and return posture), that is, a route that connects the above-described first movement route and the second movement route with the determined return position as a contact point. is there.

  The parking assistance device of the present invention supports the parking operation of the vehicle using the parking route calculated by the parking route calculation unit 3. For example, as shown in FIG. 1D, as a functional component of the parking assistance device, a parking route presentation unit 6 that displays the parking route calculated by the parking route calculation unit 3 and presents it to the vehicle occupant is added. The parking route presentation unit 6 presents the parking route to the vehicle occupant, and makes the vehicle occupant recognize the parking route that can be parked smoothly without performing an excessive steering operation, thereby assisting the parking operation. Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (e), as a functional component of the parking assistance device, steering control for controlling the steering of the vehicle so that the vehicle moves along the parking route calculated by the parking route calculation unit 3. When the unit 7 is added, it is possible to support the parking operation of the vehicle by the automatic steering control by the steering control unit 7.

  In the case of a configuration including the parking route presentation unit 6, the parking support device determines a plurality of return positions by the return position determination unit 2, and calculates a plurality of parking routes corresponding to the plurality of return positions by the parking route calculation unit 3. Then, the parking route presentation unit 6 can present the plurality of parking routes to the vehicle occupant and determine a parking route selected by the vehicle occupant among the plurality of parking routes as a final parking route. It is. As the parking route presentation unit 6 and the candidate area presentation unit 4 described above, a monitor such as a liquid crystal display for navigation generally provided in a vehicle can be used. As the interface, various operation input devices existing in the vehicle such as a joystick, an operation switch, and a touch panel can be used. It is also possible to perform voice guidance for prompting a vehicle occupant to perform various operation inputs, voice guidance for supporting a parking operation along the parking route, and the like using an existing speaker in the vehicle.

[Principle of parking route calculation]
Next, the above-described first movement path and second movement path are paths in which a straight line is added before or after a curve having only one inflection point such as a clothoid curve (a curve obtained by a cubic polynomial). Taking as an example, the principle of calculating the parking route by the parking assist device of the present invention will be specifically described.

  First, the initial position O and the initial posture Vo, the target position P, and the parking posture Vp are detected. Here, it is assumed that the relative relationship between the detected initial position O and initial posture Vo and the target position P and parking posture Vp is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, C1 is the minimum turning circle when the vehicle turns rightward from the initial position O, and C2 is the minimum turning circle when the vehicle turns leftward from the target position P. Here, the distance between the centers of the minimum turning circle C1 and the minimum turning circle C2 is at least twice the radius of the minimum turning circles C1 and C2, using a curved trajectory having only one inflection point. Since this is a necessary condition for calculating the parking route including the return, if such a condition is not satisfied, the initial position O or the target position P is urged to be reset.

  Next, the switching posture Vr is selected. As described above, the turn-back posture Vr is the vehicle direction at the turn-back position R, and an arbitrary angle may be automatically selected by the parking assistance device or an angle designated by the vehicle occupant may be selected. As shown in FIG. 2, the angle selection range of the turning posture Vr is a range α sandwiched between two common tangents that are in contact with both the minimum turning circle C1 and the minimum turning circle C2, and is selected from this range α. To do.

  Here, the relative angle of the selected turning posture Vr with respect to the initial posture Vo is θ1, and the moving path of the vehicle from the initial position O (the first moving route) until the vehicle posture is changed from the initial posture Vo to the turning posture Vr. ) Is considered as a route in which a basic route using a clothoid curve is similarly enlarged and a straight line is added before or after it, the range in which the first movement route is obtained is the range of the region S1 shown in FIG. A curve A1 in FIG. 3 corresponds to a clothoid curve that is the basis for changing the vehicle posture from the initial posture Vo to the turning posture Vr, that is, the relative angle θ1 between the initial posture Vo and the turning posture Vr. This is a basic clothoid curve (basic route), which is predetermined.

  The relative angle of the selected turning posture Vr with respect to the parking posture Vp is θ2, and the moving route of the vehicle that reaches the target position P (second moving route) while changing the posture of the vehicle from the turning posture Vr to the parking posture Vp. Is considered as a route in which a basic route using a clothoid curve is similarly enlarged and a straight line is added before or after that, the range in which the second movement route is obtained is the range of the region S2 shown in FIG. The second movement route is the same route as the vehicle movement route from the target position P until the vehicle posture is changed from the parking posture Vp to the turn-back posture Vr (the traveling direction is the only reverse direction, and the route is the same) Therefore, a range in which the second movement route can be obtained with the target position P as a reference may be obtained. A curve A2 in FIG. 4 corresponds to a clothoid curve that is the basis for changing the vehicle posture from the parking posture Vp to the turning posture Vr, that is, the relative angle θ2 between the parking posture Vp and the turning posture Vr. This is a basic clothoid curve (basic route), which is predetermined.

Here, the relative angle θ1 between the initial posture Vo and the turning posture Vr, and the relative angle θ2 between the parking posture Vp and the turning posture Vr are the relative angles between the initial posture Vo and the parking posture Vp. Then, the relationship is as shown in the following formula (1).
θ = θ1 + θ2 (1)
In addition, a series of parking paths starting from the initial position O and returning to the target position P after switching back at the switching position R connects the first movement path and the second movement path at the switching position R. The switching position P is a contact point between the first movement path and the second movement path. Therefore, the range in which the turn-back position R can be set is a range in which a position serving as a contact point between the first movement route and the second movement route can exist, that is, the region S1 in which the first movement route is obtained and the second movement route. The region S2 (candidate region) shown in FIG. The area S12 shown in FIG. 5 is obtained by a product set of the area S1 shown in FIG. 3 and the area S2 shown in FIG.
S12 = S1∩S2 (2)

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, any position within the range of the region S12 is selected, and this selected position is determined as the turn-back position R. By determining the return position R, a combination of the first movement path L1 and the second movement path L2 having the contact position R as a contact point is obtained, so the first movement path L1 and the second movement path L2 are connected. The route can be calculated as a parking route. The turn-back position R may be automatically selected by the parking assistance device at any position within the area S12, or the area S12 is presented to the vehicle occupant and designated by the vehicle occupant from within the area S12. The position may be the turn-back position R. Further, if an obstacle around the vehicle is detected and a position where both the first movement route L1 and the second movement route L2 do not interfere with the obstacle is selected as the turn-back position R, the obstacle can be avoided. The parking route that reaches the target position can be calculated. In addition, a plurality of turn-back positions R are selected, a plurality of parking paths corresponding to the respective turn-back positions R are calculated and presented to the vehicle occupant, and the vehicle occupant is selected from the plurality of parking paths. It is also possible to make the final route as the final parking route.

  The above description is based on the premise that the positional relationship between the initial position O and the target position P is as shown in FIG. 2, but regardless of the positional relationship between the initial position O and the target position P, Regardless of the parking mode such as parallel parking or parallel parking, the parking route having only one turning point in the middle of the route can be appropriately calculated by the method described above.

[Example]
Next, specific examples of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the parking assistance apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The parking assist device 100 has a function of automatically controlling vehicle movement along the parking route, and various processes for calculating the parking route and moving the vehicle are centrally controlled by the parking assist ECU 110. It has a configuration.

  The parking assist ECU 110 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output circuit, a power supply circuit, and the like, and includes an image / signal processing unit 111 that processes images and sensor signals, a route calculation unit 112 that performs route calculation, and automatic driving. A braking / driving control unit 113 and a steering control unit 114 that perform control for the purpose are provided. Here, an example in which each of these constituent units 111 to 114 is configured by common hardware and software as a functional configuration inside the parking assist ECU 110 is illustrated, but each of these functional units 111 to 114 is an individual hardware unit. Each of which may be comprised of hardware and software.

  Parking assist ECU 110 is connected to brake ECU 120, shift gear actuator 132 that drives shift gear 132, engine ECU 140, and steering actuator 151 that drives steering 152. A brake actuator 121 that drives the brake 122 is connected to the brake ECU 120.

  Signals from the wheel speed sensor 101 and the acceleration sensor 102 are input to the parking assist ECU 110 via the brake ECU 120. Further, the parking assist ECU 110 detects the signal of the shift sensor 103, the image of the in-vehicle camera 104, the signal of the sonar sensor 108, the information of the external infrastructure 109 that provides information such as the empty space of the parking lot, and the steering amount of the steering 152. A signal from the rotary encoder 153 is input. Further, the parking support ECU 110 is connected to a user interface such as an operation input device 105 for a vehicle occupant to input an operation, a monitor 106 for displaying various types of information, and a speaker 107 for outputting various types of information as audio.

  The image / signal processing unit 111 performs signal processing using one or more kinds of information such as an image taken by the in-vehicle camera 104, information from the sonar sensor 108 and the external infrastructure 109, and input information from the operation input device 105, It recognizes the environment around the vehicle, such as the initial position (current position) and initial posture of parking, the target position and parking posture, and detection of obstacles.

  The route calculation unit 112 uses the information such as the initial position (current position), the initial posture, the target position, the parking posture, and the obstacle detected by the image / signal processing unit 111 to the monitor 106 according to the above-described route calculation logic. The information is displayed, the sound is output from the speaker 107, the input from the operation input device 105 is received at any time, the initial position (current position) is departed, and the target position is reached after the return position. A series of parking routes is calculated.

  The route calculation unit 112 performs dead reckoning using sensor signals from the rotary encoder 153, the wheel speed sensor 101, the acceleration sensor 102, and the like, and estimates the position / posture of the vehicle moving along the parking route as needed. The position / orientation estimation by the route calculation unit 112 may be performed using an image taken by the in-vehicle camera 104.

  The braking / driving control unit 113 is configured to move the vehicle at an optimum speed along the parking route based on the parking route and the dead reckoning result calculated by the route calculating unit 112 and the sensor signal from the wheel speed sensor 101. When the accelerator opening is commanded to the engine ECU 140 and the vehicle approaches the turn-back position or the target position, or when the sonar sensor 108 detects an obstacle, the brake ECU 120 is given a braking command to automatically perform the braking control. . Further, the braking / driving control unit 113 controls the shift gear actuator 131 at a point where a shift change is necessary to automatically switch the shift gear 132 to a desired gear position.

  The steering control unit 114 moves the vehicle along the parking route based on the parking route and the dead reckoning result calculated by the route calculating unit 112 and the current steering amount of the steering 152 detected by the rotary encoder 153. Is calculated to control the steering actuator 151. In a vehicle equipped with a power steering device, steering control linked to the control of the power steering device may be performed.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of parking support by the parking support apparatus 100 configured as described above. The operation flow of the parking support shown in FIG. 8 is started when the vehicle occupant performs an input for instructing the start of the parking support using the operation input device 105, and unless the instruction for canceling the parking support operation is input, Continue until the operation is complete.

  When an instruction to start parking assistance is input by a vehicle occupant, first, in step S101, the initial position (current position) and initial posture of parking are detected, and in step S102, the target position and parking posture of the parking are detected. To do. In step S103, it is determined whether or not parking is possible with one turn from the initial position to the parking position. If parking is impossible from the initial position to the parking position by one turn, the vehicle is moved relative to the vehicle occupant by displaying information on the monitor 106 and outputting sound from the speaker 107 in step S104. Give instructions to do so. And it repeats the process of step S101-step S103 until the positional relationship of an initial position and a target position becomes the positional relationship which can be parked by one turn, and determines that it can park by one turn from the initial position to the parking position. If so, the process proceeds to step S105.

  Next, in step S105, an arbitrary angle is selected as a turning posture at the turning position from a selectable angle range based on the relationship between the initial posture and the parking posture. In step S106, a candidate area for the return position corresponding to the return attitude selected in step S105 is calculated. In step S107, the candidate area calculated in step S106 is displayed on the monitor 106. In the selection of the turning posture in step S105, the selectable angle range may be presented to the vehicle occupant by display on the monitor 106, etc., and the vehicle occupant may be selected.

  Next, in step S108, it is determined whether or not the turning position is selected by the vehicle occupant from the candidate area displayed on the monitor 106. If the turning position is not selected, the turning posture is changed in step S109. It is determined whether or not an input to that effect has been made. Here, when the change of the turning position is instructed without selecting the turning position, the process returns to step S105 to change the turning position. If the turn-back position is not selected and there is no instruction to change the turn-back posture, the process waits until the turn-back position is selected. Then, when the turn-back posture is selected, the process proceeds to step S110.

  Next, in step S110, a parking route that reaches the target position from the initial position via the return position is calculated. In step S111, the parking route calculated in step S110 is displayed on the monitor 106. In step S112, it is confirmed whether or not the parking route displayed on the monitor 106 is determined as the final parking route. Here, in order to allow the vehicle occupant to change the parking route as appropriate, when an operation input of the vehicle occupant for resetting the turn-back position and the turn-back posture is accepted and an operation input for resetting the turn-back position is made Returns to step S110 and repeats the subsequent processing. When an operation input for resetting the turning posture is made, the processing returns to step S105 and the subsequent processing is repeated. On the other hand, if the turn-back position and the turn-back posture are not reset and the parking route displayed on the monitor 106 is determined as the final parking route, the process proceeds to step S113.

  Next, in step S113, automatic control (route following control) of the vehicle is performed so that the vehicle moves from the initial position to the turn-back position along the parking route calculated in step S110. The route following control in step S113 is continued until it is determined in step S114 that the vehicle has reached the turn-back position. In the route following control in step S113, the vehicle actuator position and posture are always dead reckoned, and the result is fed back, and the steering actuator 151 is set so that the difference between the parking route calculated in step S110 and the actual moving route is minimized. Control etc. When approaching the turn-back position, the engine ECU 140 is given a command to reduce the accelerator opening and the brake ECU 120 is given a braking command to stop the vehicle at the turn-back position. Even when an obstacle that may come into contact with the vehicle is detected based on information from the in-vehicle camera 104, the sonar sensor 108, or the like during the path following control, the engine ECU 140 is instructed to decrease the accelerator opening. And a brake command to the brake ECU 120 to stop the vehicle. When the vehicle is stopped at the switch-back position, the shift gear actuator 131 is driven and controlled so that the gear position of the shift gear 132 is switched so that the traveling direction of the vehicle is reversed.

  If it is determined in step S114 that the vehicle has reached the turning position, then in step S115, based on the result of dead reckoning, the turning position and turning posture in the parking route calculated in step S110, the actual vehicle position, and It is determined whether or not an error between the vehicle posture is a predetermined value or more. If the error is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the route from the actual vehicle position to the target position is recalculated in step S116, and the vehicle is moved along the route recalculated in step S116 in step S117. The vehicle is automatically controlled (path following control) so as to move to the position. On the other hand, if the error is less than the predetermined value, in step S117, automatic vehicle control (route following control) is performed so that the vehicle moves to the target position along the parking route calculated in step S110. The route following control in step S117 is continued until it is determined in step S118 that the vehicle has reached the target position. In the route follow-up control in step S117, as in the route follow-up control in step S113, the vehicle position and orientation are always dead-reckoned, and the result is fed back, and recalculated in the parking route calculated in step S110 or step S116. The steering actuator 151 and the like are controlled so that the difference between the route and the actual movement route is minimized. When approaching the target position, the engine ECU 140 is given a command to decrease the accelerator opening and the brake ECU 120 is given a braking command to stop the vehicle at the target position. Even when an obstacle that may come into contact with the vehicle is detected based on information from the in-vehicle camera 104, the sonar sensor 108, or the like during the path following control, the engine ECU 140 is instructed to decrease the accelerator opening. And a brake command to the brake ECU 120 to stop the vehicle. Further, when the vehicle is stopped at the target position, the shift gear actuator 131 is driven and controlled, and the gear position of the shift gear 132 is switched to the parking range.

  If it is determined in step S118 that the vehicle has reached the target position, in step S119, the vehicle occupant is informed that parking support has been completed by displaying information on the monitor 106 or outputting sound from the speaker 107, and a series of parking operations are performed. End the support action.

  As described above in detail with reference to specific examples, according to the parking assistance device to which the present invention is applied, a series of routes including turnover is calculated as the parking route from the initial parking position to the target position. As a result, even if it is necessary to switch back to park at the target position, it is possible to properly guide the movement from the initial position, and to reduce the burden on the vehicle driver while maintaining appropriate parking. Can provide support.

  In addition, according to the parking assist device to which the present invention is applied, the vehicle occupant at the turn-back position (turn-back posture) is designated by the vehicle occupant, and the candidate region that becomes the selection range of the turn-back position based on the designated turn-back posture Or let the vehicle occupant select a turn-back position from the calculated candidate areas, and further calculate a plurality of parking paths corresponding to a plurality of turn-back positions and use the final parking path from among them You can let the crew choose. Therefore, a parking route reflecting the intention of the vehicle occupant can be obtained, and for example, a parking route that avoids an obstacle can be easily selected by the operation of the vehicle occupant.

  In addition, according to the parking assist device to which the present invention is applied, the setting of the turning posture and the selection of the turning position in the candidate area can be automatically performed on the device side. In this case, the operation burden on the vehicle occupant is reduced. The parking route can be calculated while reducing it. In addition, when automatically selecting a turning position within a candidate area, an obstacle around the vehicle is detected, and the turning position is selected so that a route that avoids the detected obstacle is obtained. An appropriate parking route that does not interfere can be calculated.

  Further, according to the parking assist device to which the present invention is applied, the route from the initial position to the turn-back position and the route from the turn-back position to the target position are set in front of a curve obtained by similarly expanding the approximate curve of a predetermined basic movement route By using a route with a straight line added behind, the calculation cost when performing route calculation in real time can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, by making the curve portion of this route a curve obtained by a cubic polynomial, it is not necessary to use numerical calculation with high calculation cost when calculating the route, and the parking route is appropriately calculated by simple algebraic calculation. Therefore, the calculation cost can be further greatly reduced. As a result, smooth parking support can be realized by shortening the calculation time, and furthermore, it can be mounted on an inexpensive computer, and the apparatus cost can be reduced.

  The embodiment described above is an example of application of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the contents described in the above embodiment. That is, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific technical matters disclosed in the above embodiments, but includes various modifications, changes, alternative techniques, and the like that can be easily derived from this disclosure.

It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the parking assistance apparatus of this invention. It is a figure explaining the principle of the parking route calculation by the parking assistance apparatus of this invention, and is a figure which illustrates the specific example of the relative relationship between an initial position and an initial attitude | position, a target position, and a parking attitude. It is a figure explaining the range from which a 1st movement path | route is obtained when the relative angle of the return posture with respect to an initial posture is (theta) 1. It is a figure explaining the range from which a 2nd movement path | route is obtained when the relative angle of the return attitude | position with respect to a parking attitude | position is (theta) 2. It is a figure explaining how to obtain the candidate area which becomes the selection range of the switching position. It is a figure which shows an example of the parking path | route calculated by determining a switching position within a candidate area | region. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the parking assistance apparatus which is one Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the parking assistance by the parking assistance apparatus which is one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Position detection part 2 Return position determination part 3 Parking route calculation part 4 Candidate area | region presentation part 5 Obstacle detection part 6 Parking route presentation part 7 Steering control part 100 Parking assistance apparatus 110 Parking assistance ECU
111 Image / Signal Processing Unit 112 Path Calculation Unit 113 Braking / Drive Control Unit 114 Steering Control Unit

Claims (10)

In a parking assistance device that supports the parking operation of a vehicle,
Position detecting means for detecting an initial position of parking and a vehicle direction at the initial position, and a target position of parking and a vehicle direction at the target position;
A route that can be set as a vehicle route from the initial position according to the vehicle direction at the initial position is defined as a first movement route, and a route that reaches the target position according to the vehicle direction at the target position can be set. When a second route is used as a second route, a range in which a position serving as a contact point between the first route and the second route can be calculated, and the vehicle selects a position selected within the range. A return position determining means for determining a return position for performing return in the process of moving from the initial position to the target position;
A parking route calculation means for calculating a series of routes reaching the target position from the initial position via the return position as a parking route ;
The turn-back position determining means is a position that becomes a contact point between the first movement path and the second movement path, and a position in which a tangent direction coincides with a direction designated by a vehicle occupant as a vehicle direction at the turn-back position. A parking assist device that calculates a range in which a vehicle can exist . A range presenting means for presenting to a vehicle occupant a range in which a position serving as a contact point between the first travel route and the second travel route calculated by the turn-back position determining means may exist;
The parking assistance device according to claim 1 , wherein the turn-back position determination means determines a position selected by the vehicle occupant within the range presented to the vehicle occupant by the range presentation means as the turn-back position. The crosscut position determining means, within which contacts a position of said first moving path and the second feed line may be present, according to claim 1, characterized by automatically selecting the position at which said turn-back position Parking assistance apparatus as described in. It further comprises obstacle detection means for detecting obstacles around the vehicle,
The switching position determining means is configured such that the first movement path and the second movement path interfere with the obstacle within a range where a position serving as a contact point between the first movement path and the second movement path can exist. The parking support device according to claim 3 , wherein a contact position that is not to be selected is selected as the turn-back position. Wherein the first moving path and the second path of travel, according to claim 1 to 4, characterized in that a path by adding a straight line before or after the predetermined curve similar enlargement an approximate curve of the basic moving path The parking assistance device according to any one of the above. The parking assist device according to claim 5 , wherein the curved portions of the first movement route and the second movement route are curves obtained by a cubic polynomial. The parking assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , further comprising a parking route presentation unit that presents a parking route calculated by the parking route calculation unit to a vehicle occupant. The turning position determining means determines a plurality of turning positions,
The parking route calculation means calculates a plurality of parking routes corresponding to the plurality of turn-back positions,
The parking route presentation means presents the plurality of parking routes to a vehicle occupant,
The parking assistance apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein a parking path selected by a vehicle occupant among a plurality of parking paths presented to a vehicle occupant by the parking path presentation unit is determined as a final parking path. The parking path calculating means such that the vehicle moves along the parking path which is calculated, according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a steering control means for controlling the steering of the vehicle Parking assistance device. A parking support method for supporting a parking operation of a vehicle,
Obtaining an initial parking position and a vehicle direction at the initial position, a target parking position and a vehicle direction at the target position;
A route that can be set as a vehicle route from the initial position according to the vehicle direction at the initial position is defined as a first movement route, and a route that reaches the target position according to the vehicle direction at the target position can be set. When a second route is used as a second route, a range in which a position serving as a contact point between the first route and the second route can be calculated, and the vehicle selects a position selected within the range. Determining a turn-back position for turning back in the process of moving from the initial position to the target position;
Have a, and calculating a set of paths to reach the target position via the crosscut position from the initial position as the parking path,
When calculating the range in which the position to be the contact can exist, the vehicle occupant is the position that becomes the contact between the first movement path and the second movement path, and the direction of the tangent is the vehicle direction at the turn-back position. A parking assistance method, comprising: calculating a range in which a position that matches the direction specified by (1) can exist .

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