Parking assistance device and method used therefor

• US 20030078713A1
• Filed: 09/27/2002
• Published: 04/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Yuu, Katsuno, Toshiyasu, Iwata, Yoshifumi
• Granted Patent: US 6,778,891 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/41
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/10 Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/028 Guided parking by providing commands to the driver, e.g. acoustically or optically

Abstract

A parking assistance device capable of performing an easy operation for parking a driver'"'"'s own vehicle along a parking course up to a parking target position. A parking course in which the driver'"'"'s own vehicle reaches a parking target position indicated by a marker of a screen of a display of the driver'"'"'s own vehicle is calculated up (S16). If a steering operation of the driver'"'"'s own vehicle is performed, in the case that the current rudder angle changes towards a target rudder angle in order to move the driver'"'"'s own vehicle along a parking course, the steering assistant power of the driver'"'"'s own vehicle is increased (S21) and thus the steering operation of the driver'"'"'s own vehicle is performed by a relatively small operational power. On the other hand, if the current rudder angle changes away from the target rudder angle, the steering operation of the driver'"'"'s own vehicle is performed by a relatively large operational power since the rudder supplementary power is decreased (S21).

Claims

1. A parking assistance device for calculating a parking course in which a driver'"'"'s own vehicle reaches a parking target position based on an image picturing a circumstantial view of said driver'"'"'s own vehicle, wherein:

a steering assistant power is increased if an operational steering angle changes towards a target rudder angle in order to move said driver'"'"'s own vehicle along said parking course and said steering assistant power is decreased if the operational steering angle changes away from the, target rudder angle.

3. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, comprising:

a steering actuator for outputting the steering assistant power for reducing turning power of a steering wheel;

a image converting means for converting the image photographed into an image signal;

a display means for displaying the image photographed by said image converting means;

a control means for turning ON and OFF said image converting means and displaying said image signal from said image converting means on said display means;

a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering rudder angle being output to said control means as a steering rudder angle signal;

a combination meter for detecting a vehicle speed being output to said control means as a vehicle speed signal; and

a shift position sensor for detecting a shift position of a transmission being output to said control means as a shift position signal.

4. The parking assistance device according to claim 3, wherein:

said image signal output to said control means is inverted so as to display the same image as seeing backward on said display means.

5. The parking assistance device according to claim 3, wherein:

said display means displays an image in a backward direction of a driver'"'"'s own vehicle photographed by said image converting means.

6. The parking assistance device according to claim 5, wherein:

said image in said backward direction includes a rear end of said driver'"'"'s own vehicle, a marker of an avoidance point by utilizing a vertical line, and a marker as a parking target position.

7. The parking assistance device according to claim 6, wherein:

said marker of said avoidance point and said marker as said parking target position can be moved by touching a white arrow except inside being displayed so as to set said avoidance point and said parking target position.

8. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein:

said steering means includes a function of determining that said operation of parking said driver'"'"'s own vehicle is started only if it is judged that a shift position of a transmission is reverse and that said operation of parking said driver'"'"'s own vehicle is ended only if it is judged that said shift position of said transmission is not reverse.

9. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein:

said steering assistant power of said driver'"'"'s own vehicle is increased uniformly without having any relation with a current rudder angle.

10. The parking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein:

said steering assistant power of said driver'"'"'s own vehicle is increased in proportion to an operational speed of steering.

2. A parking assistance device, comprising:

a judgement means for judging whether an operation of parking a driver'"'"'s own vehicle is started and whether said operation of parking said driver'"'"'s own vehicle is ended, wherein;

steering assistant power of said driver'"'"'s own vehicle is increased if said judgement means determines that said operation of parking said driver'"'"'s own vehicle is started and said steering assistant power of said driver'"'"'s own vehicle is decreased to an original power level if said judgement means determines that said operation of parking said driver'"'"'s own vehicle is ended.

11. A method for assisting a vehicle to park, comprising the steps of:

judging whether or not a shift position of a transmission is reverse;

if said shift position of said transmission is reverse, then;

judging whether or not a target position is set; and

if said target position is not set, then;

a parking target position is set by touching a screen of a display; and

judging whether or not said parking target position has been reached.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

performing parking course calculation for calculating a parking course up to a point of a space indicated by a marker as said parking target position from a current position of a driver'"'"'s own vehicle; and

judging whether or not said parking course exists;

if said parking course exists, then;

performing steering assistant power calculation for calculating necessary supplemental power; and

performing vehicle migration calculation for calculating a migration locus of said driver'"'"'s own vehicle and said current position.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

said parking course up to said point of said space is calculated by utilizing an operational rudder angle obtained through a steering rudder angle signal from a steering angle sensor.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein:

said marker can be moved by touching a white arrow except inside being displayed on a screen as a touch panel as an avoidance point and said parking target position.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

said parking course calculation calculates an escape of an avoidance point indicated by said marker.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

said necessary supplemental power is calculated by utilizing a current rudder angle and a target rudder angle.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein:

said necessary supplemental power is obtained so as to reduce a load of steering by increasing said steering assistant power output from a steering actuator as current rudder angles approach to a target rudder angle.

18. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

said migration locus of said driver'"'"'s own vehicle and said current position are calculated by utilizing a current rudder angle obtained by a steering rudder angle signal from a steering angle sensor and a vehicle speed obtained by a vehicle speed signal from a combination meter.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein:

said vehicle migration calculation invokes a displaying procedure for displaying a rear image of said driver'"'"'s own vehicle photographed by a camera.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein:

said displaying procedure displays a forecasted course line calculated by utilizing a current steering angle, distance measurement lines in connection with steering, a vehicle width extension line, and a distance measurement line in a duplicated way.