Parking assist apparatus and parking assist method for vehicle

• US 7,085,634 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2004
• Issued: 08/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2003
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US10/810,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20040260439A1
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 701/41, 701/70, 701/23, 701/25, 701/28, 340/932.2, 340/901, 340/425.5, 340/436, 180/199, 180/6.2, 280/761, 348148-149, 281/761
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/48 for parking purposes
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/10 Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically

Abstract

A parking assist apparatus allows a target parking position to be set by a user moving a target parking frame displayed together with an actual image of surroundings of a vehicle, and automatically guides the vehicle to the set target parking position. In the parking assist apparatus, the target parking frame is initially displayed through the use of past setting of the target parking position by the user.

Claims

1. A parking assist apparatus comprising:

a display device that displays an actual image of surroundings of a vehicle and a target parking frame indicating a target parking position where the vehicle is to be parked;

an initial display control device that initially displays the target parking frame on the display device by using a past setting of the target parking position performed by a user; and

a guide device that automatically guides the vehicle to the target parking position.

2. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a control parameter computing device that computes an amount of movement of the vehicle and an amount of change in orientation of the vehicle that are needed in order to guide the vehicle from a parking start position to the set target parking position, as control parameters;

a storage device that stores the computed control parameters in association with the computed amount of movement and the computed amount of change; and

an estimation device that estimates the target parking position based on a driving state of the vehicle up to the parking start position, and that estimates the amount of movement and the amount of change that are needed in order to guide the vehicle from the parking start position to the estimated target parking position, wherein the initial display control device retrieves the control parameters corresponding to the estimated amount of movement and the estimated amount of change from the storage device, and initially displays the target parking frame on the display device based on the retrieved control parameters.

3. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the estimation device constantly computes and stores the change in orientation of the vehicle for every predetermined travel distance during driving the vehicle, and estimates the amount of change based on the stored change in orientation of the vehicle.

15. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the past setting of the target parking position includes the user'"'"'s operation of (i) moving a parking frame initially displayed on the display device to a desired parking position and setting the desired parking position as the target parking position, or (ii) setting the parking frame initially displayed on the display device as the target parking position.

4. A parking assist apparatus comprising:

an estimation device that estimates an amount of movement of a vehicle and an amount of change in orientation of the vehicle that are needed for guiding the vehicle from a parking start position to a target parking position, as control parameters, based on a driving state of the vehicle up to the parking start position, in order for a user to set the target parking position by moving a target parking frame displayed together with an actual image of surroundings of the vehicle in an garage parking assist operation; and

an initial position determination device that determines an initial display position of the target parking frame based on the estimated control parameters, wherein the estimation device constantly computes and stores the change in orientation of the vehicle for every predetermined travel distance during driving the vehicle, and estimates the control parameters based on the stored change in orientation of the vehicle.

5. A parking assist method comprising:

a first step of initially displaying a target parking frame in a screen of a display device displaying an actual image of surroundings of a vehicle by using a past setting of a target parking position performed by a user; and

a second step of automatically guiding the vehicle to the target parking position set by the user moving the target parking frame displayed together with the actual image of surroundings of the vehicle.

16. The parking assist method according to claim 5, wherein the past setting of the target parking position is set by the user'"'"'s operation of (i) moving a parking frame initially displayed on the display device to a desired parking position and setting the desired parking position as the target parking position, or (ii) setting the parking frame initially displayed on the display device as the target parking position.

6. A parking assist method comprising:

a first step of constantly computing and storing the change in orientation of the vehicle for every predetermined travel distance during driving a vehicle;

a second step of estimating an amount of movement of the vehicle and an amount of change in orientation of the vehicle that are needed for guiding the vehicle from a parking start position to a target parking position, as control parameters, based on a driving state of the vehicle obtained before the vehicle reaches the parking start position, which includes the stored change in orientation of the vehicle;

a third step of determining an initial display position of the target parking frame based on the estimated control parameters;

a fourth step of displaying a target parking frame to the determined initial display position together with an actual image of surroundings of the vehicle;

a fifth step of setting a position of the target parking frame which is moved by the user, as the target parking position; and

a sixth step of guiding the vehicle to the target parking position in the garage parking operation.

7. A parking assist apparatus comprising:

a detection device that detects a stopped state of a vehicle;

a recognition device that, if the stopped state of the vehicle is detected by the detection device, recognizes a position having a predetermined relationship with a first stopped position of the vehicle occurring when the stopped state is detected, as a target parking position; and

a guide device that automatically guides the vehicle to the target parking position.

8. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a display device that displays the recognized target parking position together with an actual image of surroundings of the vehicle.

9. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a manual operation device that moves and adjusts a display position of the target parking position in accordance with a switch operation.

10. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 7, wherein if a steering angle being substantially at a neutral position is detected in addition to the stopped state of the vehicle, the recognition device recognizes, as the target parking position, the position having the predetermined relationship with the first stopped position of the vehicle.

11. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the recognition device recognizes the position having the predetermined relationship with the first stopped position as at least one candidate for the target parking position, and recognizes a candidate among the at least one candidate which is recognized with reference to a second stopped position having a predetermined relationship with a present vehicle position that is apart from the first stopped position, as the target parking position.

12. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 11, wherein if a plurality of candidates exist, the recognition device recognizes, among the plurality of candidates, a candidate recognized with reference to the second stopped position that is nearest to the present vehicle position that is apart from the first stopped position, as the target parking position.

13. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 11, wherein if the candidate does not exist, the recognition device recognizes a preset position to which the vehicle is guidable with reference to the present vehicle position that is apart from the first stopped position, as the target parking position.

17. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, if the stopped state of the vehicle is detected by the detection device, the recognition device recognizes the position having the predetermined relationship with the stopped position of the vehicle occurring when the stopped state is detected as the target parking position without a switch operation by the user.

19. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the stopped position is set as a reference stopped position only when a subsequent parking start position exists within a predetermined moving distance from the stopped position.

14. A parking assist method comprising:

detecting a stopped state of a vehicle;

recognizing, as a target parking position, a position having a predetermined relationship with a stopped position of the vehicle occurring when the stopped state of the vehicle is detected; and

automatically guiding the vehicle to the target parking position.

18. The parking assist method according to claim 14, wherein, if the stopped state of the vehicle is detected by the detection device, the recognition device recognizes the position having the predetermined relationship with the stopped position of the vehicle occurring when the stopped state is detected as the target parking position without a switch operation by the user.

20. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising setting the stopped position as a reference stopped position only when a subsequent parking start position exists within a predetermined moving distance from the stopped position.