Vehicle parking assist system

• US 10,479,332 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2017
• Issued: 11/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Bales, John, Hafner, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Camby, Richard M
• Application Number:
  US15/813,214
• Publication Number:
  US 20180072284A1
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/022 Collision avoidance systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/10 Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1708 for lorries or tractor-trailer combinations

Abstract

A method for assisting in parking a vehicle, comprises the steps of: initiating a parking sequence having a reference velocity; altering a velocity of the vehicle to about the reference velocity by generating a brake torque during a first mode of operation of a controller; outputting the brake torque to a disturbance estimator; storing the brake torque within the disturbance estimator; and utilizing the brake torque from the disturbance estimator in a second mode of operation of the controller to stop the vehicle at a target location.

Claims

1. A method for assisting in parking a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

initiating a parking sequence having a reference velocity;

altering a velocity of the vehicle to about the reference velocity by generating a brake torque during a first mode of operation of a controller;

outputting the brake torque to a disturbance estimator;

storing the brake torque within the disturbance estimator; and

utilizing the brake torque from the disturbance estimator in a second mode of operation of the controller to stop the vehicle at a target location.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

transitioning the controller from the first mode to the second mode once the vehicle crosses a threshold distance from the target location.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the controller operates in a proportional-integral control during the first mode of operation and in a proportional-derivative control during the second mode of operation.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the controller operates on a velocity error signal in the first mode of operation and a distance error signal in the second mode of operation.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the vehicle is stopped at the target location with essentially no overshoot.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the controller operates on a distance error signal in the second mode of operation.

7. A method for assisting in parking a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

initiating a parking sequence having a reference velocity;

altering a velocity of the vehicle to about the reference velocity by generating a brake torque during a first mode of operation of a controller;

outputting the brake torque to a disturbance estimator; and

utilizing the brake torque in a second mode of operation of the controller to stop the vehicle at a target location.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second mode of the controller is operated in a proportional-derivative control based on a distance error signal.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of:

storing the brake torque within the disturbance estimator.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of:

transitioning the controller from the first mode to the second mode once the vehicle crosses a threshold distance from the target location.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the control module is configured to operate in the first mode, the second mode and a third mode.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the first mode is operated in a proportional-integral control based on a velocity error signal.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second mode of the control module is configured to be operated in a proportional-derivative control based on a distance error signal.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the controller operates on a velocity error signal in the first mode of operation and a distance error signal in the second mode of operation.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of:

transitioning the controller from the first mode to the second mode once the vehicle crosses a threshold distance from the target location.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the controller operates in a proportional-integral control during the first mode of operation and in a proportional-derivative control during the second mode of operation.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the controller operates on a velocity error signal in the first mode of operation and a distance error signal in the second mode of operation.

15. A method for assisting in parking a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

initiating a parking sequence having a reference velocity;

altering a velocity of the vehicle to about the reference velocity by generating a brake torque during a first mode of operation of a controller; and

utilizing the brake torque in a second mode of operation of the controller to stop the vehicle at a target location.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of:

outputting the brake torque to a disturbance estimator.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of:

storing the brake torque within the disturbance estimator.