Parking assist apparatus and method

• US 8,890,716 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2011
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Takano, Teruhisa, Tanaka, Daisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Jabr, Fadey
• Assistant Examiner(s): HEINLE, COURTNEY D
• Application Number:
  US13/703,209
• Publication Number:
  US 20130096816A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: 340/932.2, 340/435, 340/436, 348/118, 348/E7.086, 701/400, 701/41
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0265 Automatic obstacle avoidance by steering
• 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 15/0285 Parking performed automatically
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00

Abstract

In order to provide parking assist even in a situation where an end portion of a vehicle is predicted to come into contact with an obstacle, an available parking space is set, and a target parking position is set within the available parking space. When it is determined that the end portion of the vehicle will come into contact with an end portion of the available parking space if the vehicle travels to be parked in the target parking position, an entering angle of the vehicle with respect to the available parking space is changed so that the vehicle may travel toward a target parking space with the end portion of the vehicle spaced away from a front end point P of the available parking space, and a parking path for the vehicle to travel to a non-final target parking position is calculated.

Claims

1. A parking assist apparatus comprising:

an available parking space detector configured to detect an available parking space;

a final target parking position setter configured to set a final target parking position in the available parking space detected by the available parking space detector;

a contact determination device configured to determine whether or not there exists a first path for a vehicle to reach the final target parking position without coming into contact with an end portion of the available parking space;

a non-final target parking position calculator configured to calculate, when the contact determination device determines that the first path does not exist, a first entering angle, a second entering angle and a non-final target parking position, the first entering angle enabling the vehicle to enter the available parking space by moving straight without coming into contact with the end portion of the available parking space, the second entering angle being smaller than the first entering angle and enabling the vehicle to enter the available parking space by turning without coming into contact with the end portion of the available parking space, the non-final target parking position being a position to be reached when the vehicle enters the available parking space at the first entering angle or the second entering angle;

a second-path calculator configured to calculate a plurality of second paths, including a path for the vehicle to move to the non-final target parking position calculated by the non-final target parking position calculator by turning and a path for the vehicle to move straight to the non-final target parking position;

a third-path calculator configured to calculate a third path for the vehicle to reach the final target parking position from the non-final target parking position; and

a display device configured to display the first path when the contact determination device determines that the first path exists, and to display the second paths and the third path when the contact determination device determines that the first path does not exist.

2. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

as the first entering angle, the non-final target parking position calculator is configured to calculate an entering angle which enables the vehicle to enter the available parking space by moving with a steering wheel at a substantially-neutral position, without coming into contact with the end portion of the available parking space, and

as a second path, the second-path calculator is configured to calculate a path for the vehicle to reach the non-final target parking position by moving with the steering wheel at the substantially-neutral position.

3. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the non-final target parking position calculator is configured to set the first entering angle so that a track of an end portion of the vehicle moving forward from the non-final target parking position with a predetermined turning radius keeps a certain distance from the end portion of the available parking space.

4. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the non-final target parking position calculator is configured to set the first entering angle so that a track of an end portion of the vehicle backing up straight from the non-final target parking position keeps a certain distance from the end portion of the available parking space.

5. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the second-path calculator is configured to obtain:

a back-up start position for the vehicle to start backing up toward the non-final target parking position calculated by the non-final target parking position calculator; and

a cut-back position for, after the vehicle starts backing up from the back-up start position, cutting back a steering wheel in an opposite direction to move the vehicle toward the non-final target parking position.

6. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the third-path calculator is configured to calculate the third path for the vehicle to repeatedly move forward with a steering wheel fixed at a certain steering-wheel angle and back up with the steering wheel fixed at a certain steering-wheel angle, so that a longitudinal direction of the vehicle becomes parallel to a longitudinal direction of the available parking space.

7. The parking assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the third-path calculator is configured to calculate the third path for the vehicle to repeatedly move forward with a steering wheel fixed at a certain steering-wheel angle and back up with the steering wheel at a neutral steering-wheel angle, so that a longitudinal direction of the vehicle becomes parallel to a longitudinal direction of the available parking space.

8. A parking assist method, comprising:

detecting, by an available parking space detector, an available parking space, and setting, by a final target parking position setter, a final target parking position in the available parking space;

determining, by a contact determination device, whether or not there exists a first path for a vehicle to reach the final target parking position without coming into contact with an end portion of the available parking space;

when the first path exists, displaying the first path on a display device; and

when the first path does not exist, calculating, by a non-final target parking position calculator, a first entering angle, a second entering angle and a non-final target parking position, the first entering angle enabling the vehicle to enter the available parking space by moving straight without coming into contact with the end portion of the available parking space, the second entering angle being smaller than the first entering angle and enabling the vehicle to enter the available parking space by turning without coming into contact with the end portion of the available parking space, the non-final target parking position being a position to be reached when the vehicle enters the available parking space at the first or second entering angle, calculating, by a second-path calculator, a plurality of second paths, including a path for the vehicle to move to the non-final target parking position calculated by the non-final target parking position calculator by turning and a path for the vehicle to reach the non-final target parking position by moving straight, calculating, by a third-path calculator, a third path for the vehicle to reach the final target parking position from the non-final target parking position, and displaying the second paths and the third path on the display device.

9. The parking assist method according to claim 8, comprising:

as the first entering angle, calculating, by the non-final target parking position calculator, an entering angle which enables the vehicle to enter the available parking space by moving with a steering wheel at a substantially-neutral position, without coming into contact with the end portion of the available parking space, and

as the second path, calculating, by the second-path calculator, a path for the vehicle to reach the non-final target parking position by moving with the steering wheel at the substantially-neutral position.

10. A parking assist apparatus comprising:

available parking space detection means for detecting an available parking space;

final target parking position setting means for setting a final target parking position in the available parking space detected by the available parking space detection means;

contact determination means for determining whether or not there exists a first path for a vehicle to reach the final target parking position without coming into contact with an end portion of the available parking space;

non-final target parking position calculation means for, when the contact determination means determines that the first path does not exist, calculating a first entering angle, a second entering angle and a non-final target parking position, the first entering angle enabling the vehicle to enter the available parking space by moving straight without coming into contact with the end portion of the available parking space, the second entering angle being smaller than the first entering angle and enabling the vehicle to enter the available parking space by turning without coming into contact with the end portion of the available parking space, the non-final target parking position being a position to be reached when the vehicle enters the available parking space at the first entering angle or the second entering angle;

second-path calculation means for calculating a plurality of second paths, including a path for the vehicle to move to the non-final target parking position by turning and a path for the vehicle to move straight to the non-final target parking position;

third-path calculation means for calculating a third path for the vehicle to reach the final target parking position from the non-final target parking position; and

display means for displaying the first path when the contact determination means determines that the first path exists, and for displaying the second paths and the third path when the contact determination means determines that the first path does not exist.