Parking space recognition apparatus and parking space recognition system

• US 9,940,529 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2015
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Maeda, Yuu, Kawasaki, Naoki, Shimomura, Osamu, Funabashi, Junichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): SOSANYA, OBAFEMI OLUDAYO
• Application Number:
  US14/838,881
• Publication Number:
  US 20160071415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 956 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/23 with a predetermined field of view
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/30 characterised by the type of image processing
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/302 combining image information with GPS information or vehicle data, e.g. vehicle speed, gyro, steering angle data
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/50 characterised by the display information being shared, e.g. external display, data transfer to other traffic participants or centralised traffic controller
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/70 characterised by an event-triggered choice to display a specific image among a selection of captured images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/806 for aiding parking
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/586 of parking space

Abstract

A parking space recognition apparatus includes an onboard camera, a wireless receiver, and a parking space determination portion. The onboard camera is mounted to a first vehicle and captures a peripheral image around the first vehicle. The wireless receiver is mounted to the first vehicle and receives a parking-space related information that is transmitted from an outside of the first vehicle. The parking space determination portion is mounted to the first vehicle and determines a parking space to park the first vehicle on a basis of the peripheral image and the parking-space related information.

Claims

1. A parking space recognition apparatus comprising:

an onboard camera mounted to a first vehicle and capturing a peripheral image around the first vehicle;

a wireless receiver mounted to the first vehicle and receiving a parking-space related information that is transmitted from an outside of the first vehicle via wireless communication, the parking-space related information being used in determination of a parking space for the first vehicle; and

a parking space determination portion mounted to the first vehicle and determining the parking space to park the first vehicle on a basis of the peripheral image captured by the onboard camera and the parking-space related information received by the wireless receiver,

wherein the parking space determination portion determines the parking space for the first vehicle without referring to the parking-space related information, when a difference between a time when the wireless receiver has received the parking-space related information and a time when the parking space is determined is equal or greater than a predetermined time.

2. The parking space recognition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the wireless receiver receives, as the parking-space related information, an in-parking information that indicates a position of a vehicle-parked compartment, the vehicle-parked compartment being a parking compartment where a parked vehicle exists; and

when the wireless receiver receives the in-parking information,

the parking space determination portion limits a search area of the parking space to exclude the vehicle-parked compartment indicated in the in-parking information, and

the parking space determination portion searches for a parking compartment line regarding the limited search area in the peripheral image.

3. The parking space recognition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the wireless receiver receives, as the parking-space related information, a parking range information that indicates a range where a parked vehicle is positioned; and

the parking space determination portion

analyzes the peripheral image to determine a pair of two white lines as a candidate of a parking compartment line,

determines a compartment line reliability that is a reliability of the candidate of the parking compartment line on a basis of at least any of a width of the candidate of the parking compartment line, parallelism of the candidate of the parking compartment line, a degree of consistency of the two white lines, and a continuity to a different candidate of the parking compartment line, and

when the wireless receiver receives the parking range information, corrects the compartment line reliability of a target candidate of the parking compartment line on a basis of a range of the parked vehicle indicated in the parking range information to a position of the target candidate of the parking compartment line, wherein the target candidate of the parking compartment line is the candidate of the parking compartment line including a white line positioned farther from the first vehicle than the range of the parked vehicle.

4. The parking space recognition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the wireless receiver receives, as the parking-space related information, a parking range information that indicates a range where a parked vehicle is positioned; and

the parking space determination portion

determines an endpoint candidate of a parking compartment line on a basis of an edge point of a brightness value in the peripheral image,

determines an endpoint reliability that is a reliability of the endpoint candidate on a basis of a density of edge points in a local area where the endpoint candidate is included, and

when the wireless receiver receives the parking range information, corrects the endpoint reliability on a basis of a position of the endpoint candidate in an extending direction of the parking compartment line including the endpoint candidate and of a range where the parked vehicle is positioned, the range being defined by the parking range information.

5. A parking space recognition system comprising:

the parking space recognition apparatus according to claim 2;

a parking detector detecting a parking of a second vehicle;

a position detector detecting a position of the second vehicle; and

a wireless transmitter transmitting, as the in-parking information, the position of the second vehicle detected by the position detector when the position detector detects the parking of the second vehicle.

6. The parking space recognition system according to claim 5, further comprising:

a travel start detector detecting that the second vehicle ends parking and starts traveling,

wherein;

when the travel start detector detects a start of travel of the second vehicle, the wireless transmitter transmits information that indicates a position where the second vehicle has been parked become an unoccupied state.

7. A parking space recognition system comprising:

the parking space recognition apparatus according to claim 2;

a vehicle-parked compartment detector mounted to a second vehicle and sequentially detecting the vehicle-parked compartment during a travel of the second vehicle in a parking lot; and

a wireless transmitter mounted to the second vehicle and transmitting a position of the vehicle-parked compartment detected by the vehicle-parked compartment detector as the in-parking information that indicates a position of a vehicle-parked compartment.

8. A parking space recognition system comprising:

the parking space recognition apparatus according to claim 3;

a parking range detector mounted to the second vehicle and sequentially detecting a range where the parked vehicle is positioned during a travel of the second vehicle in a parking lot; and

a wireless transmitter mounted to the second vehicle and transmitting a range where the parked vehicle is positioned, the range being detected by the parking range detector, as the parking range information.

9. The parking space recognition system according to claim 6, wherein:

the parking detector, the position detector, the wireless transmitter, and the travel start detector are provided to the first vehicle.

10. The parking space recognition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a case where the difference between the time when the wireless receiver has received the parking-space related information and the time when the parking space is determined is equal or greater than a predetermined time corresponds to a case where, at a time of the determination of the parking space for the first vehicle, the predetermined time has elapsed after the wireless receiver has received the parking-space related information.