KR102176772B1 - Apparatus and method for vehicle tracking - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for confirming the parking position of a vehicle, and specifically, an apparatus for confirming the parking position of a vehicle in an indoor parking lot receives vehicle driving information through vehicle network communication, and calculates the movement path of the vehicle. And a wireless communication module that transmits the vehicle driving information and the calculated movement path to a user terminal using short-range wireless communication according to the control of the controller and the controller, wherein the vehicle enters the position correction area The final parking position of the vehicle is calculated on the basis of a moving route corrected by the location of the parking window entrance by referring to map information of the indoor parking lot stored in advance.

Description

Vehicle parking location tracking device and its method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR VEHICLE TRACKING}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for tracking a parking position of a vehicle, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for tracking a parking position of a vehicle in an indoor parking lot.

In general, methods of determining the parking position of a vehicle can be largely divided into two methods: a method using a Global Positioning System (GPS) and a method using a Wifi Positioning System (WPS).

Among them, the method using GPS can be used only outdoors where satellite signals can be captured by receiving microwaves transmitted by a plurality of satellites orbiting the mid-orbit and measuring the location of the GPS receiver.

On the other hand, the method using WPS is a technology that is only used indoors where GPS cannot operate, and is a method of measuring the location of a vehicle indoors by using data obtained from a database of Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI).

The technology using GPS transmits a GPS signal including location information and time information of the vehicle through communication between a GPS transmitter and receiver mounted on a vehicle from a number of satellites, and the GPS signal is transmitted to a control center server through a GPS base station. Afterwards, the control center server analyzes the location information of the vehicle through the GPS base station, calculates the absolute coordinates of latitude, longitude, altitude, and standard time, and maps it to the location on the map of the vehicle.

As described above, the technology using GPS can easily provide location and time information of a vehicle, and can significantly reduce an error rate in checking the location of a vehicle parked outdoors or in a stationary state. However, GPS equipment is expensive, and there is a problem that maintenance costs are also large, and it is difficult to track a location, especially when a vehicle enters indoors or underground.

The technology using WPS detects the location of a vehicle equipped with a mobile communication terminal at a plurality of wireless mobile communication base stations, and the vehicle location detection signal transmitted from the wireless communication base station is input to the control server, and calculates the position of the vehicle on the map. Mapping.

In this way, the WPS-based technology can determine the location by installing only the base station indoors or underground as well as outdoors, and the installation cost for transmission and reception is lower than that of the GPS method. However, in order to find the location of a vehicle indoors, database data of the received signal strength for the target space must be provided. In addition, when the location information of the vehicle has a very large error range, such as a radius of the base station, and maintenance costs such as communication fees are generated and signals are transmitted wirelessly, signal loss occurs.

Therefore, vehicle parking management technology using GPS or WPS can be used only for approximate vehicle location tracking rather than accurate location measurement.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention calculates the parking position of the vehicle by using the vehicle driving information when the vehicle is parked in the parking lot, and corrects the calculated position to determine the actual parking position and An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for reducing the error range of the calculated parking position.

A wireless communication device for a vehicle that provides a location of a vehicle in an indoor parking lot according to an aspect of the present invention includes a controller for calculating a moving path of the vehicle by receiving vehicle driving information through vehicle network communication, and the controller for controlling the A wireless communication module for transmitting vehicle driving information and the calculated movement path to a user terminal using short-range wireless communication, wherein the controller includes a map of the indoor parking lot stored in advance when the vehicle enters the position correction area. ) The final parking position of the vehicle is calculated based on the movement path corrected by the position tracking start position as the parking window entrance position with reference to the information.

When the vehicle enters the location correction area, correcting a location tracking start location to a parking window entrance location by referring to map information of a previously stored indoor parking lot may be performed by the user terminal.

In addition, a method of providing a vehicle location in an indoor parking lot according to another aspect of the present invention includes a process of calculating a movement path of the vehicle using vehicle driving information, and when the vehicle enters the position correction area, a previously stored indoor And calculating the final parking position of the vehicle based on a moving path obtained by correcting the location tracking start position as a parking window entrance position by referring to map information of the parking lot.

According to the present invention, a wireless communication device installed in a vehicle calculates a moving path of the vehicle using steering angle information and wheel pulse information of the vehicle, and corrects the calculated movement path in the user terminal, and the corrected movement path It is possible to calculate the final parking position of the vehicle based on.

In addition, by calculating the final parking position by referring to the map information of the indoor parking lot stored in advance, it provides an advantage of reducing the error rate between the actual parking position and the tracked parking position.

1 is a block diagram showing a parking position tracking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view for explaining a position correction area (corner) according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view for explaining a position correction area (curve) according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing a location correction area and an access point in a parking lot.
5 is a view showing a parking position finally displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a signal flow diagram of a parking location tracking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flow chart showing a parking position calculation process according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a flow chart showing a parking position correction process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and a method of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in a variety of different forms, only these embodiments are intended to complete the disclosure of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the person of the scope of the invention, and the invention is defined by the scope of the claims.

Meanwhile, terms used in the present specification are for describing exemplary embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the singular form in the present specification includes the plural form unless specifically stated in the phrase. As used herein, “comprises” and/or “comprising” refers to the presence of one or more other components, steps, actions and/or elements in the mentioned component, step, operation and/or element. Or does not preclude adding.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing a parking position tracking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a parking location tracking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a wireless communication device 120 provided in a vehicle 100 and a user terminal 200 possessed by a user.

The wireless communication device 120 includes a communication module 122, a controller 124, and a short-range wireless communication module 126.

The communication module 122 communicates with a plurality of electronic control devices (ECU1...ECUn, ABS, MDPS, EMS) in the vehicle 100 using CAN (Controller Area Network) communication or LIN (Local Interconnect Network) communication, and It receives driving information and transmits it to the controller 124.

The controller 124 calculates a movement path of the vehicle 100 using vehicle driving information received from the communication module 122, and uses the calculated movement path and the vehicle driving information to the short-range wireless communication module 126 ) Through the user terminal 200.

The user terminal 200 includes a short-range wireless communication module 220, a controller 240, and a memory unit 260.

The short-range wireless communication module 220 communicates with the wireless communication device using short-range wireless communication such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and the movement path of the vehicle 100 and the movement path of the vehicle 100 calculated by the wireless communication device 120 The vehicle driving information is received and transmitted to the controller 240.

The controller 240 determines whether or not the vehicle 100 enters the position correction region, and when the vehicle 100 enters the position correction region, the vehicle 100 uses the location information of the entered position correction region. Determine the start position of location tracking. Thereafter, the controller 240 corrects the starting position of the location tracking as the entrance to the parking lot by referring to the map information of the indoor parking lot stored in advance. The corrected movement path of the vehicle 100 is stored in the memory unit 260 and transmitted to the wireless communication device 120 of the vehicle 100 through the short-range wireless communication module 220.

Then, the wireless communication device 120 receives the movement path of the vehicle 100 corrected by the user terminal 200 through the short-range wireless communication module 126, and the corrected movement path of the vehicle 100 Based on this, the final position of the vehicle 100 is calculated.

2 is a view for explaining a position correction area (corner) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, P1, P2, P3, and P4 have a right angle or an angle similar thereto, and as an area where a difference in the steering angle of the vehicle and the number of rotations of the left and right wheels occurs, P1, P2, P3, which are general corners of a parking lot , P4 is used as a position correction area. Therefore, when the vehicle passes P1, P2, P3, and P4, corner detection is possible by using the difference in the number of revolutions of the vehicle's left and right wheels and steering angle information. However, since P2, P3, and P4 are corner regions of the same shape, if the distance difference between the vehicle path tracking start point and the parking lot entrance 200 is large, positional misrecognition may occur, and thus position correction is required.

On the other hand, P1 can be used as a feature point because when the vehicle turns a corner in this area, the wheel rotational speed and steering angle change are different from P2, P3, and P4. For example, when a vehicle enters the parking lot entrance 200 and moves in the direction of the arrow through P1 through P2 (220), the starting point of the vehicle's path tracking becomes a point at the entrance of the parking lot 200, and P2 and P1 are the first Will be the second correction area. However, when the vehicle passes through P2 and moves to P1 through P3, since there is no other characteristic point other than the characteristic that the path is a corner, correction is required when the distance difference between the starting point of location tracking and the actual parking lot entrance 200 is large.

That is, an important feature of the present invention is to find the exact starting point possible. When the vehicle enters the parking lot entrance 200, the route tracking start point becomes a point at the parking lot entrance 200, and when the vehicle's route tracking starts, an area where the distance from the parking lot entrance 200 can be accurately known is required. Do. As can be seen from FIG. 2, P2 and P1 become the first correction areas, and the vehicle also passes through one of them.

3 is a diagram for describing a position correction area (curve) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, in a curve 320, which is a movement path mainly used when moving between floors in a parking lot, the number of rotations of the wheel increases significantly while the steering angle of the vehicle is skewed to either side. Since there are not many curves 320 in the parking lot, if the vehicle enters the parking lot entrance 300 and then passes through the curve 320 area, accurate location tracking is possible. In addition, it is possible to check whether or not inter-floor movement occurs through the curve 320 by combining with the value of the gyro sensor of the user terminal.

4 is a diagram showing a location correction area and an access point (AP) in a parking lot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4, when three access points are installed in a parking lot, the received signal strength (RSSI) values in each location correction area are AP A (420), AP B (440), and AP. Each appears differently in C 460. For example, P2 will have the largest received signal strength value of AP C 460, and P7 and P9 will have the largest value of AP A 420. That is, if the received signal strength value and the rate of change of the received signal strength (ΔRSSI) are used, it is possible to correct the position of the vehicle more accurately by combining with the corner detection method. For example, when the starting point of the vehicle's position tracking starts at P2, not at the parking lot entrance 400, and the vehicle moves through P20 to P21, the vehicle's movement path will be calculated as having moved to P3 through P1. In this case, the position correction is performed as follows.

When the movement path tracking is started from the parking lot entrance 400, the received signal strength of the AP C 460 starts to increase from the entrance, becomes the highest at P2, and should have a pattern that decreases as it passes through P1 and P20. However, the actual measured value will decrease the strength of the received signal of the AP C 460 from the moment the location tracking starts. Therefore, since it is possible to track that the location tracking start point is at a point past the parking lot entrance 400, the first starting point of the moving route is set to P2, which is the next block, not the parking lot entrance 400. Accordingly, the position of the vehicle is corrected to the path from P20 to P21.

On the other hand, if the starting point of vehicle location tracking is before entering the parking lot entrance 400, not the parking lot entrance 400, the vehicle must pass P2, and the received signal strength of AP C 460 before and after P2 has increased. Will decrease. Also, the values of AP A 420 and AP B 440 will be measured very low. Using this, it is possible to correct the position of the vehicle.

5 is a view showing a parking position finally displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

If there is a difference in distance between the parking area of the parking lot map that the user terminal has in advance and the position 500 at which the actual vehicle is stopped, referring to FIG. 5, the actual position at which the vehicle is stopped is closest to 13, so the calculated vehicle The position of becomes 13. Accordingly, the position 520 of the vehicle finally displayed on the user terminal becomes 13.

6 is a signal flow diagram of a parking location tracking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a parking location tracking device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a user terminal 200, a wireless communication device 120 provided in a vehicle, and an electronic control device 600 of the vehicle.

First, in step 602, when the user enters the parking lot with the user terminal 200 installed with the app (App) having parking space information of the indoor parking lot, the user terminal 200 moves to the wireless communication device 120 Request to start tracking. In this case, the request method may be manually requested by a driver using the user terminal 200, or a tracking start may be requested using an autolight sensor or the like.

Thereafter, in step 604, the wireless communication device 120 receives and stores information about the direction angle of the vehicle wheel and the number of rotations of the wheel necessary for calculating the movement path from the electronic control device 600 in the vehicle using in-vehicle wireless communication. Start.

In step 606, the wireless communication device 120 calculates the current position of the vehicle using the stored wheel direction and wheel rotation speed information starting at the entrance to the parking lot.

In step 608, the calculated location information and the received signal strength value are transmitted to the user terminal 200, and the user terminal 200 determines whether the location of the vehicle is in the position correction area.

In step 610, when the user terminal 200 determines that the vehicle is in the position correction area, the user terminal 200 performs and displays the position correction operation. Here, the position correction area becomes an area in which all corner areas and curve areas in the parking lot, and a change in the received signal strength value are large.

In step 612, when the correction operation is performed in the user terminal 200, the corrected vehicle position value is transmitted to the wireless communication device 120.

In step 614, the wireless communication device 120 corrects the current position of the vehicle by referring to the received value.

In step 616, the modified location information is transmitted to the user terminal 200.

In step 618, the user terminal 200 compares the received location information with the parking space information and displays the nearest parking space as a vehicle location. Thereafter, when the user terminal 200 requests the location information of the parked vehicle from the wireless communication device 120, the wireless communication device 120 transmits the calculated location information of the vehicle to the user terminal 200. .

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of calculating a parking position according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 7,

In S700, a process in which the wireless communication device provided in the vehicle receives a request to start tracking the movement path of the vehicle or a request to transmit location information of the vehicle from the user terminal is performed.

In S702, when a request to start tracking a movement path is received, a process of storing direction information of a vehicle wheel and rotation information of a wheel is performed.

In S704, a process of calculating a moving path of the vehicle is performed using the stored vehicle driving information.

In S706, a process of transmitting the calculated information to the user terminal is performed.

In S708, the user terminal corrects the location of the vehicle using the received location information of the vehicle and the stored map information, and transmits the corrected value to the wireless communication device.

In S710, the wireless communication device performs a process of applying the received position information correction value to the current position movement path calculation.

In S712, it is determined whether the vehicle is stopped, and when it is determined that the vehicle is stopped, a process of transmitting the estimated location information of the vehicle to the user terminal is performed.

On the other hand, in S700, when a request for transmission of vehicle location information other than a request to start tracking a movement route is received from the user terminal, a process of transmitting the estimated vehicle location information to the user terminal is performed.

Further, in S704, the method of calculating the movement path includes a method of calculating a movement distance from wheel size information and rotation speed, and calculating a movement direction of the vehicle using the wheel direction information.

In addition, in S708, the user terminal estimates a parking area closest to the received location as the parking location of the vehicle.

In addition, when it is determined in S712 that the vehicle has not stopped, the process moves to S702 and a subsequent step is performed. In addition, the method of determining whether the vehicle is stopped in S712 is determined by whether the vehicle engine is ignited. For example, when the engine ignition is turned off, it is determined that the vehicle is stopped.

8 is a flowchart showing a parking position correction process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8,

In S800, a process of receiving location information and received signal strength information from the vehicle is performed.

In S802, a process of determining whether the vehicle enters a corner or curve or other area is performed using the received information.

In S804, when entering a corner or a curve area, a process of setting a position correction candidate area in the adjacent area by comparing the current location and the map is performed.

In S806, a process of checking whether there is a position correction region having a characteristic among the candidate regions is performed.

In S808, a process of setting a final position correction region by comparing the value of each of the position correction candidate regions and the received signal strength is performed.

In S810, a process of determining whether the gyro sensor value is changed is performed.

In S812, when there is a change in the gyro sensor value, a process of determining whether the gyro sensor value is increased or decreased is performed.

In S814, when the value of the gyro sensor decreases, a process of determining that the vehicle has moved upward using the curve area is performed.

In S816, when the gyro sensor value is increased, a process of determining that the vehicle has moved downward using the curve area is performed.

In S818, a process of mapping with the stored parking lot map is performed using the determined information.

In S820, a process of positioning the exit as a starting point and transmitting the corrected position to the vehicle is performed.

If it is determined in S810 that there is no change in the gyro sensor value, the process moves to S818 and a subsequent step is performed.

The step S814 is a step of determining that the floor has increased as a result of the vehicle moving using the curve in the parking lot. For example, if the vehicle has moved to the first basement level, it is a step of determining that it has moved to the first basement floor.

The step S816 is a step of determining that the floor has decreased as a result of the vehicle moving using the curve in the parking lot. For example, if it is the second basement level, it is a step of determining that it moves to the third basement level.

The step S818 includes the step of mapping by changing to a map corresponding to the moved floor.

The proposed invention is that the wireless communication device 100 provided in the vehicle calculates the current vehicle movement path using the steering angle information and the wheel rotation information, and uses the calculated location information into the parking space of the parking lot that the app of the user terminal has. It relates to a method of informing the owner of the vehicle of the location of the finally parked vehicle compared with the location information.

In addition, in tracking the position of the vehicle using the steering angle information and the number of rotations of the wheel, not only corner and curve detection, but also corner and curve detection, in order to correct incorrect position information caused by the position error occurring between the tracking start position and the actual position of the parking lot entrance. There is an advantage of reducing the error rate between the actual parking position and the tracked parking position by using the received signal strength value and the change rate value of the received signal strength.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention.

Accordingly, the embodiments expressed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but are intended to be described, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical ideas equivalent to or within the scope of the present invention should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: vehicle
120: wireless communication device
122: communication module
124: controller (in the wireless communication device)
126: short-range wireless communication module (in the wireless communication device)
200: user terminal
220: short-range wireless communication module (in the user terminal)
240: controller (in the user terminal)
260: memory unit

Claims (5)

In the vehicle wireless communication device installed in the vehicle to provide the location of the vehicle in an indoor parking lot,
A controller configured to receive vehicle driving information through vehicle network communication and calculate a moving path of the vehicle; And
A wireless communication module for transmitting the vehicle driving information and the calculated movement path to a user terminal using short-range wireless communication under the control of the controller,
When the vehicle enters the position correction area, the final parking position of the vehicle is based on a movement path in which the starting position of location tracking is corrected to the entrance position of the parking window by referring to map information of the indoor parking lot stored in advance. Parking location tracking device that calculates. The method of claim 1,
When the vehicle enters the location correction area, correcting the location starting position to the parking window entrance location by referring to the map information of the indoor parking lot stored in advance is performed by the user terminal. The method of claim 1, wherein the corner area or the curve area,
A parking position tracking device that is determined using at least one of steering angle information and wheel pulse information included in the vehicle driving information. The method of claim 3, wherein the corner area or the curve area,
A parking position tracking device to further receive an RSSI provided from a plurality of access points installed in the indoor main window, and to determine the corner area or the curve area by using the change rate of the received RSSI. In a method for providing a vehicle location in an indoor parking lot in a wireless communication device mounted in a vehicle,
Calculating a moving path of the vehicle using vehicle driving information;
When the vehicle enters the location correction area, the final parking position of the vehicle is calculated based on the movement route corrected for the location tracking start position to the parking window entrance position by referring to the map information of the indoor parking lot stored in advance. Parking location tracking method that includes the process.

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