Parking Aid for a Vehicle and Parking Aid Method

• US 20080238722A1
• Filed: 11/04/2005
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Valeo Schalter und Sensoren GmbH (Valeo SE)
• Original Assignee: Valeo Schalter und Sensoren GmbH (Valeo SE)
• Inventors: Gotzig, Heinrich, Leumalieu-Pagop, Raoul
• Application Number:
  US11/667,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20080238722A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/006 using a distance sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9314 Parking operations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2015/935 for measuring the contour, e.g. a trajectory of measurement points, representing the boundary of the parking space
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/521 Constructional features

Abstract

A parking aid (10) comprises at least one sensor (12) emitting and/or receiving signals, and an evaluation unit (18) processing the emitted and/or received signals. The parking aid is characterized in that a deflection device (22) swivels the sensor (12) and/or the emission direction (16) of the sensor depending on the emitted and/or received signals. A corresponding parking aid method is also described.

Claims

1-13. -13. (canceled)

14. A parking aid for a vehicle comprising:

at least one sensor that emits and/or receives signals;

an evaluation unit communicating with said sensor to process said emitted and/or received signals; and

a deflecting unit cooperating with said sensor for pivoting said sensor and/or for pivoting a radiation direction of said sensor, in dependence on said emitted and/or received signals.

15. The parking aid of claim 14, wherein said evaluation unit drives said deflecting means.

16. The parking aid of claim 14, wherein said deflecting means is driven in dependence on a distance of a detected object determined by said emitted and/or received signals, a path that the vehicle has traveled, a speed of the vehicle, and/or a steering angle of the vehicle.

17. The parking aid of claim 14, wherein said deflecting means pivot said sensor about an axis which extends perpendicularly and/or parallel to a direction of travel of the vehicle.

18. The parking aid of claim 14, wherein said deflecting means pivot said sensor from a neutral position into a deflection position through +/−

45°

or through +/−

20°

.

19. The parking aid of claim 14, wherein a pivot motion is performed gradually or in steps.

20. The parking aid of claim 14, wherein contours of mutually facing ends of two objects that delimit a parking space are determined by pivoting said sensor.

21. The parking aid of claim 14, further comprising a position encoder for determining a traveled path, a speed sensor for determining a speed of the vehicle, and/or a steering angle sensor for determining a steering angle of the vehicle.

22. A method for assisted parking of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

a) emitting and/or receiving signals using at least one sensor;

b) communicating with said sensor using an evaluation unit to process said emitted and/or received signals; and

c) pivoting said sensor and/or pivoting a radiation direction of said sensor using a deflecting unit cooperating with said sensor and in dependence on said emitted and/or received signals.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said sensor is pivoted in dependence on a path traveled by the vehicle, a speed of the vehicle, and/or a steering angle of the vehicle.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said sensor is pivoted between a neutral position and a deflected position, either continuously or in steps.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising the steps of:

d) moving along a first object while detecting a lateral separation between the first object and the vehicle;

e) pivoting said sensor in the direction of an end of the first object that faces a parking space and determining a contour or the end of the first object when the end of the first object is detected;

f) when the first object is leaving or has left a detecting region of said sensor, pivoting said sensor in a direction of an expected end of a second object that also delimits the parking space;

g) determining a contour of the end of the second object facing the parking space when the second object is in the detecting region of said sensor; and

h) determining a length of the parking space between mutually facing ends of the first and second objects based on contours thereof and a distance between the objects that the vehicle has traveled.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein, prior to step d) and/or after step g), the sensor assumes a neutral position in which the sensor radiates or radiates substantially perpendicularly to a direction of travel of the vehicle.