Driving assist apparatus and method for vehicle

• US 7,233,851 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2004
• Issued: 06/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2003
• 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): Camby; Richard M.
• Application Number:
  US10/870,919
• Publication Number:
  US 20040267423A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,093 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 701/25, 701/41, 701/42, 340/932.2, 340/438, 340/441, 342/71
• US Class Current: 701/41
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/10 Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically

Abstract

A vehicle driving assist apparatus for guiding a vehicle to a target position is provided. A basic path that changes the deflection angle θ to 0 is determined, and is subjected to similarity transformation. On the basis of the similarity-transformed path, a path factoring in transition from the initial steering angle is set. Then, a correction is made such that the area in the running distance-curvature graph regarding this path becomes equal to a corresponding area regarding the basic path, thereby setting a corrected path. The corrected path is similarity-transformed, and then is re-corrected in accordance with transition from the initial steering angle. Thus, a final target path is obtained.

Claims

1. A driving assist apparatus for a vehicle comprising:

a setting portion that sets a basic path that changes a direction of the vehicle so as to coincide with a direction of the vehicle at a target position as changes in a turning curvature of the vehicle with respect to a running distance of the vehicle, based on a deflection angle that is an angle formed between the direction of the vehicle at the initial position and the direction of the vehicle at the target position, and an initial actual steering angle that is an actual steering angle of the vehicle at the initial position;

a transforming portion that computes a path obtained by similarity-transforming the basic path based on a relationship between the initial position and the target position; and

a correcting portion that corrects the similarity-transformed path into a target path along which the vehicle reaches the target position based on a difference between the initial actual steering angle and a steering angle occurring at an initial position on the similarity-transformed path.

2. The driving assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the basic path includes a first path in which the vehicle is driven by increasing a steering angle in one direction, a second path in which the vehicle is driven by maintaining the predetermined steering angle, and a third path in which the vehicle is driven by returning the steering angle to neutral, and the correcting portion corrects the direction of the vehicle at a final position on the similarity-transformed path to the direction of the vehicle at the target position by changing a running distance of the vehicle in the second path.

3. The driving assist apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the correcting portion further corrects the final position based on a ratio between a distance in a predetermined direction between the initial position and the final position and a distance in the predetermined direction between the initial position and the target position.

4. A diving assist method for a vehicle comprising the steps of:

setting a basic path that changes a direction of the vehicle so as to coincide with a direction of the vehicle at a target position as changes in a turning curvature of the vehicle with respect to a running distance of the vehicle, based on a deflection angle that is an angle formed between the direction of the vehicle at the initial position and the direction of the vehicle at the target position, and an initial steering angle that is a steering angle of the vehicle at the initial position;

computing a path obtained by similarity-transforming the basic path based on a relationship between the initial position and the target position; and

correcting the similarity-transformed path based on a difference between the initial actual steering angle and a steering angle occurring at an initial position on the similarity-transformed path.

5. The driving assist method according to claim 4, wherein the basic path includes a first path in which the vehicle is driven by increasing a steering angle in one direction, a second path in which the vehicle is driven by maintaining the predetermined steering angle, and a third path in which the vehicle is driven by decreasing the steering angle to neutral, and further comprising the step of correcting the direction of the vehicle at a final position by changing a running distance of the vehicle in the second path.

6. The driving assist method according to claim 5 further comprising the step of correcting the final position based on a ratio between a distance in a predetermined direction between the initial position and the final position and a distance in the predetermined direction between the initial position and the target position.

7. A driving assist apparatus for a vehicle comprising:

setting means for setting a basic path that changes a direction of the vehicle at so as to coincide with a direction of the vehicle at a target position as changes in a turning curvature of the vehicle with respect to a running distance of the vehicle, based on a deflection angle that is an angle formed between the direction of the vehicle at the initial position and the direction of the vehicle at the target position, and an initial actual steering angle that is an actual steering angle of the vehicle at the initial position;

transforming means for computing a path obtained by similarity-transforming the basic path based on a relationship between the initial position and the target position; and

correcting means for correcting the similarity-transformed path into a target path along which the vehicle reaches the target position based on a difference between the initial actual steering angle and a steering angle occurring at an initial position on the similarity-transformed path.