Vehicle backward movement assist device and vehicle parking assist device

• US 20050055139A1
• Filed: 08/27/2004
• Published: 03/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsui, Akira, Satonaka, Hisashi, Kataoka, Hiroaki, Sugiyama, Toru, Kubota, Yuichi, Endo, Tomohiko, Iwazaki, Katsuhiko, Iwakiri, Hideyuki, Kawakami, Seiji, Tanaka, Yuu, Iwata, Yoshifumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,039,504 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically

Abstract

A vehicle backward movement assist device includes a vehicle path determining means for determining a path from a current position of the vehicle moved at a moving amount detected by a vehicle moving amount detecting means to a first target position or a second target position, the vehicle path determining means determining the path by repeatedly calculating the path, and a displaying means for displaying an image of a rear view from a captured by an image capturing means, the displaying means superimposing the first or second target position of the vehicle moved based upon the first or second target position and the detected moving amount on the image of the rear view from the vehicle, the second target position calculated by updating the first target position.

Claims

1. A vehicle backward movement assist device comprising:

an image capturing means for capturing an image of a rear view from a vehicle;

a target position inputting means for setting a first target position of the vehicle to be backed up;

a vehicle moving amount detecting means for detecting a moving amount of the vehicle to be backed up;

a vehicle path determining means for determining a path from a current position of the vehicle moved at the moving amount detected by the vehicle moving amount detecting means to the first target position or a second target position, the vehicle path determining means determining the path by repeatedly calculating the path; and

a displaying means for displaying the image of the rear view from the vehicle, the displaying means superimposing the first or second target position of the vehicle moved based upon the first or second target position and the detected moving amount on the image of the rear view from the vehicle, the second target position calculated by updating the first target position.

2. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 1, wherein the displaying means displays the image of the rear view from the vehicle and superimposes the first or second target position of the vehicle moved based upon the first or second target position and the detected moving amount on the image of the rear view from the vehicle before the first or second target parking position is set by the target parking position inputting means.

3. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 1 further comprising;

a vehicle guiding assisting means for assisting guiding the vehicle to the first or second target position along the path determined between the current position of the vehicle and the first or second target position by the vehicle path determining means.

4. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 3, wherein the displaying means displays the image of the rear view from the vehicle and superimposes the first or second target position of the vehicle moved based upon the first or second target position and the detected moving amount on the image of the rear view from the vehicle while the vehicle guiding assisting means guides the vehicle to the first or second target position.

5. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 1 further comprising:

a reset target position inputting means for resetting the first or second target position set by the target position inputting means.

6. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 1 further comprising:

a steering controlling means for controlling a vehicle steering operation along the path determined by the vehicle path determining means.

7. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 1 further comprising:

a path determination judging means for alerting a driver that the path updating operation is disabled while the vehicle has backed up along the path determined by the vehicle path determining means.

8. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second target positions of the vehicle are a target parking position of the vehicle.

9. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 3 further comprising:

a steering controlling means for controlling a vehicle steering operation along the path determined by the vehicle path determining means.

10. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 3 further comprising:

a path determination judging means for alerting a driver that the path updating operation is disabled while the vehicle has backed up along the path determined by the vehicle path determining means.

11. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 1, wherein the target position inputting means includes a combination of a target position confirmation key and at least one of plural indicators operated by a driver so as to move a position of the first or second target position on the image.

12. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 1 further comprising:

a controlling means for controlling the vehicle backward movement, the controlling means including at least one of the target position inputting means, the vehicle moving amount detecting means, the vehicle path determining means, the displaying means.

13. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 12, wherein the controlling means resets the first or second target position set by the target position inputting means when the path determined by the vehicle path determining means is judged not to be appropriate while the vehicle 1 moves backward.

14. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 1, wherein the first target position is modified to the second target position when the vehicle moves after determining the path by the vehicle path determining means.

15. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 1, wherein the second target position is substantially the same as the first target position if the vehicle does not move after determining the path by the vehicle path determining means.

16. A vehicle backward movement assist device comprising:

a camera fixed at a portion of a vehicle so as to capture a rear view from the vehicle;

a target position confirmation key adjusted to set a first target position of the vehicle to be backed up;

at least a pair of wheel speed sensors mounted at a pair of vehicle wheels so as to detect a moving amount of the vehicle to be backed up;

a computer for determining a path from a current position of the vehicle moved at the moving amount detected by the at least pair of wheel speed sensors to the first target position or a second target position, the vehicle path determining means determining the path by repeatedly calculating the path;

a display to display an image of the rear view from the vehicle, the display adjusted to superimpose the first or second target position of the vehicle moved based upon the first or second target position and the detected moving amount on the image of the rear view from the vehicle, the second target position calculated by updating the first target position.

17. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 16, wherein the display displays the image of the rear view from the vehicle and superimposes the first or second target position of the vehicle moved based upon the first or second target position and the detected moving amount on the image of the rear view from the vehicle before the first or second target position is set by the target position confirmation key.

18. A vehicle backward movement assist device according to claim 16 further comprising:

at least one indicator operated to move the first target position to the second target position in response to a vehicle parking mode,

wherein the second target position is superimposed on the image of the rear view from the vehicle.

19. A method of guiding a vehicle parking maneuver comprising the steps of:

judging whether a shift lever has been shifted to a reverse range;

displaying an image of a rear view from a vehicle at a display when the shift lever has been shifted to the reverse range;

judging a vehicle parking mode either at a back-in parking mode or at a parallel parking mode;

calculating a first target parking position in accordance with the vehicle parking mode;

superimposing the first target parking position on the image of the rear view from the vehicle;

calculating a vehicle path from a vehicle current position to the first target parking position;

judging whether the vehicle has moved after the vehicle path calculation;

calculating a relative relationship between the current position of the vehicle after the vehicle movement and the first target parking position when the vehicle is judged to have moved; and

updating the first target parking position to a second target parking position, wherein the second target parking position is superimposed on the image of the rear view from the vehicle.

20. A method of guiding a vehicle parking maneuver according to claim 19 further comprising:

judging whether the first target parking position has been confirmed by a driver when the vehicle is judged not to have moved;

guiding the vehicle parking maneuver when the first target parking position has been confirmed by the driver;

calculating a vehicle moving amount immediately after the start of the vehicle parking maneuver guiding;

judging whether the vehicle moving amount has changed;

calculating the relative relationship between the current position of the vehicle which has moved at the changed vehicle moving amount and the first or second target parking position when the vehicle moving amount is judged to have changed;

resetting the first or second target parking position to the second target parking position or to a third target parking position;

superimposing the second or third target parking position on the image of the rear view from the vehicle;

judging whether the position of the second or third target parking position at the display is needed to be changed;

operating a target parking position modification key when the position of the second or third target parking position is needed to be changed;

calculating the relative relationship between the current position of the vehicle which has moved at the changed vehicle moving amount and the second or third target parking position when the target parking position modification key was operated; and

updating the second or third parking position to a fourth target parking position, wherein the fourth target parking position is superimposed on the image of the rear view from the vehicle in response to the operation of at least one of plural indicators.