Method for assisting a driver of a vehicle when parking in a parking space

• US 8,779,939 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2009
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valeo Schalter und Sensoren GmbH (Valeo SE), Volkswagen AG
• Original Assignee: Valeo Schalter und Sensoren GmbH (Valeo SE), Volkswagen AG
• Inventors: Barth, Harald, Jecker, Nicolas
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, Tyler J
• Application Number:
  US12/995,684
• Publication Number:
  US 20110087406A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,869 Days
• Field of Search: 701/41, 701/1, 340/932.3, 340/943, 340/425.5, 340/932.2, 180/199, 180/204
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/48 for parking purposes
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 9/00 Ground-engaging vehicle fittings for supporting, lifting, or manoeuvring the vehicle, wholly or in part, e.g. built-in jacks lifting devices in general B66F; supports in general F16M
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/027 Parking aids, e.g. instruction means
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0275 by overlaying a vehicle path based on present steering angle over an image without processing that image
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/028 Guided parking by providing commands to the driver, e.g. acoustically or optically
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas

Abstract

A method for assisting a driver of a vehicle when parking in a parking space is disclosed. The method involves measuring a possible parking space, calculating a parking trajectory on the basis of a current parking space geometry determined from the measurement of the parking space and on the basis of a vehicle position relative to the parking space, and a parking process is subsequently carried out during which the vehicle is steered along the parking trajectory into the parking space, continuing to determine, during the parking process, the current parking space geometry and is compared with a previous parking space geometry determined before the start of the parking process, where, if the two parking space geometries differ from one another, a deviation which is present is evaluated and the parking trajectory corrected and/or re-calculated.

Claims

1. A method for assisting a driver of a vehicle when parking in a parking space the method comprising:

measuring a possible parking space;

calculating a parking trajectory on the basis of a current parking space geometry which is determined from the measurement of the parking space, and on the basis of a vehicle position relative to the parking space; and

subsequently carrying out a parking process during which the vehicle is steered along the parking trajectory into the parking space; and

continuously determining the current parking space geometry during the parking process using current sensor data acquired by a sensor system for measuring the parking space, and comparing the current parking space geometry with a previous parking space geometry determined before the start of the parking process,

wherein, when the previous and current parking space geometries differ from one another, a deviation which is present is evaluated and the parking trajectory is corrected and/or re-calculated, and

wherein the comparison between the previous parking space geometry determined before the parking process and the current parking space geometry determined during the parking process is carried out by sensing, during the entry into the parking space, the lateral distance, to the left and right of the vehicle, from objects which bound the parking space and by comparing said lateral distance with the distances which are expected on the basis of the originally sensed parking space geometry and the current vehicle position.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the difference between the previous parking space geometry determined before the parking process and the current parking space geometry is small, the original parking trajectory is retained, and when the previous parking space geometry differs significantly from the current parking space geometry and this difference is relevant for the parking result, the parking trajectory is re-defined or corrected on the basis of the parking space geometry currently determined during the parking process.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the distance from objects which bound the parking space is monitored during the parking process.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, if it can be detected on the basis of the profile that the parking space has an orientation which differs from the parking space geometry determined before the parking process, the parking trajectory is correspondingly corrected.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, in order to detect the orientation of the parking space, the profile of the two lateral objects is represented in each case as a straight line.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein when both straight lines extend approximately in parallel, the mean value of the two straight lines is adopted as the orientation of the parking space.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein when both straight lines do not extend sufficiently in parallel but have the same orientation with respect to the original target orientation, the straight line which differs the least from the original target orientation is adopted as the orientation of the parking space.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein in the event of a deviation of the profile of the measured straight lines from the real straight lines, lateral distance data are used to correct the parking trajectory during the parking process.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the event of parallel displacement of the straight lines, the parking trajectory is corrected by corresponding parallel displacement.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the event of a directional offset of the straight lines, the target angle of the parking trajectory is corrected.

11. The method according to claim 5, wherein when both straight lines do not extend sufficiently in parallel and are oriented differently with respect to the original target orientation, a mean value of the two straight lines is adopted as the orientation of the parking space.

12. The method according to claim 5, wherein when both straight lines do not extend sufficiently in parallel and are oriented differently with respect to the original target orientation, the original target orientation is retained.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in order to determine the current parking space geometry during the parking process, a measuring device is provided which is primarily provided for assisting the driver of the vehicle in a situation other than during the parking process.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in order to determine the current parking space geometry during the parking process, a measuring device is provided which is provided specially for assisting the driver of the vehicle during the parking process.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the measuring device comprises ultrasonic sound sensors.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the measuring device comprises a camera.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the measuring device comprises radar sensors.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in order to determine the current and previous parking space geometries before and/or during the parking process, a position and an orientation of parking space markings are sensed and determined.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in order to determine the current and previous parking space geometries before and/or during the parking process, a profile of the curb is sensed and determined.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein there is additionally provision for the target parking position and/or orientation in the parking space to be verified and confirmed or corrected by the driver.

21. A driver assistance device, the device comprising:

a sensor system for measuring a parking space before and during a parking process, wherein current sensor data obtained by the sensor system is used to continuously determine a current parking space geometry during the parking process;

a microprocessor which is connected to the sensor system and has associated storage, the microprocessor being configured to;

calculate and correct a parking trajectory on the basis of the current parking space geometry determined during the parking process and a previous parking space geometry determined before the parking process, wherein the parking space geometries are determined from the measurement of the parking space before and during the parking process, and on the basis of a vehicle position relative to the parking space,

compare the current parking space geometry with the previous parking space geometry, and when the two parking space geometries differ from one another, a difference which is present is evaluated and the parking trajectory is corrected and/or recalculated,

wherein the comparison between the previous parking space geometry determined before the parking process and the current parking space geometry determined during the parking process is carried out by sensing, during the entry into the parking space, the lateral distance, to the left and right of the vehicle, from objects which bound the parking space and by comparing said lateral distance with the distances which are expected on the basis of the originally sensed parking space geometry and the current vehicle position; and

carry out the parking process during which the vehicle is steered along the parking trajectory into the parking space.

22. The driver assistance device according to claim 21, wherein the driver assistance device permits one selected from a group consisting of guided parking, semi-automatic parking, or fully automatic parking of a vehicle along the parking trajectory into the parking space.

23. A computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising computer-readable program code which, when the computer program product is executed on a microprocessor with associated storage means or on a computer, cause the latter to carry out a method comprising:

measuring a possible parking space;

calculating a parking trajectory on the basis of a current parking space geometry which is determined from the measurement of the parking space, and on the basis of a vehicle position relative to the parking space;

subsequently carrying out a parking process during which the vehicle is steered along the parking trajectory into the parking space; and

continuously determining the current parking space geometry during the parking process using current sensor data acquired by a sensor system for measuring the parking space, and comparing the current parking space geometry with a previous parking space geometry determined before the start of the parking process,

wherein the comparison between the previous parking space geometry determined before the parking process and the current parking space geometry determined during the parking process is carried out by sensing, during the entry into the parking space, the lateral distance, to the left and right of the vehicle, from objects which bound the parking space and by comparing said lateral distance with the distances which are expected on the basis of the originally sensed parking space geometry and the current vehicle position, and

wherein, when the previous and current parking space geometries differ from one another, a deviation which is present is evaluated and the parking trajectory is corrected and/or re-calculated.