Parking controller, parking control system, and parking control method

• US 10,780,879 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2018
• Issued: 09/22/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Ten Limited (f/k/a Fujitsu Ten Ltd.) (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DENSO Ten Limited (f/k/a Fujitsu Ten Ltd.) (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Izumi, Yuki, Tsuyunashi, Masashi, Hasegawa, Wataru
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn, Alex C
• Application Number:
  US15/887,349
• Publication Number:
  US 20180229719A1
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/406 Traffic density
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/80 Spatial relation or speed relative to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2756/10 Involving external transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/06 Automatic manoeuvring for parking
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/586 of parking space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 to a central station ; Indicators in a central station

Abstract

A parking controller according to one aspect of an embodiment includes a specific-parking-frame acquiring unit, a target-parking-frame setting unit, and a vacant-parking-frame detecting unit. The specific-parking-frame acquiring unit acquires information indicating a specific parking frame. The specific parking frame is a parking frame that is specified by an external device among from a plurality of parking frames in a parking lot. The target-parking-frame setting unit sets the specific parking frame as a target parking frame. The target parking frame is a parking frame to be a target. The vacant-parking-frame detecting unit detects a vacant parking frame while an own vehicle is travelling to the target parking frame. The vacant parking frame is a parking frame in a vacant state. The target-parking-frame setting unit changes, when the vacant-parking-frame detecting unit detects the vacant parking frame, the set target parking frame into the vacant parking frame.

Claims

1. A parking controller comprising:

a processor configured to execute a process that includes;

acquiring, from data acquired at least in part using a sensor on an own vehicle, information indicating a specific parking frame, the specific parking frame being a parking frame that is specified by an external device among from a plurality of parking frames in a parking lot;

setting the specific parking frame as a target parking frame, the target parking frame being a parking frame to be a target;

detecting a vacant parking frame while the own vehicle is travelling to the target parking frame, the vacant parking frame being a parking frame in a vacant state,

wherein the setting includes changing, when the vacant parking frame is detected in the detecting, the set target parking frame into the vacant parking frame, and

wherein the own vehicle is controlled by an autonomous control system, and the changing the set target parking frame into the vacant parking frame occurs automatically upon detection of the vacant parking frame.

2. The parking controller according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine whether or not parking of the own vehicle into the target parking frame is completed; and

transmit, to the external device, information indicating the parked target parking frame when the determining determines that the parking into the target parking frame is completed.

3. The parking controller according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine whether or not there exists another travelling vehicle around the vacant parking frame when the detecting detects the vacant parking frame; and

determine preference degrees of the own vehicle and the another travelling vehicle for the vacant parking frame when determined that there exists the another travelling vehicle, wherein

setting sets the target parking frame based on a determination result of the determining preference degrees.

4. The parking controller according to claim 3, wherein the setting changes the target parking frame into the vacant parking frame when the preference degree of the own vehicle for the vacant parking frame is higher than that of the another travelling vehicle.

5. The parking controller according to claim 3, wherein the determining preference degrees includes acquiring, for each of the own vehicle and the another travelling vehicle, as corresponding preference degree information at least one of (i) corresponding acquisition time point information on a time at which information indicating the specific parking frame is acquired, (ii) corresponding distance information from a present position to the vacant parking frame, (iii) corresponding vehicle-size information, (iv) corresponding number-of-occupants information, and (v) corresponding history information indicating a use history of the parking lot, and determining a corresponding preference degree based on the acquired corresponding preference degree information.

6. The parking controller according to claim 3, wherein the determining preference degrees does not determine the preference degrees when receiving from the other vehicle information indicating a determination result of the preference degrees, for the vacant parking-frame, of the own vehicle and the another travelling vehicle.

7. The parking controller according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine whether or not the specific parking frame, which is set as the target parking frame, is a predetermined parking frame that satisfies a predetermined condition, wherein

the setting includes forbidding changing the target parking frame into the vacant parking frame when the detecting detects the vacant parking frame and the determining determines that the specific parking frame is the predetermined parking frame.

8. The parking controller according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine whether or not parking of the own vehicle into the changed target parking frame has completed; and

transmit, to the external device, information indicating the changed target parking frame in which the own vehicle is parked, when determined that the parking into the changed target parking frame has completed.

13. A parking control system comprising:

the parking controller according to claim 1; and

a vehicle controller that controls the vehicle based on a signal output from the parking controller.

9. A parking controller that automatically performs a parking control on a vehicle in a parking lot including a plurality of getting-into places, the parking controller comprising:

a processor configured to execute a process that includes;

receiving, from a user, an outgoing instruction of the vehicle parked in the parking lot;

computing, for each of the getting-into places, an estimated time interval including (i) an estimated getting-into time interval from a time at which the user starts from a present position for a corresponding getting-into place to a time at which the user gets into the vehicle, (ii) an exit arrival time interval from a time at which the vehicle starts from the corresponding getting-into place to a time at which the vehicle arrives at an exit of the parking lot, and (iii) a destination arrival time interval from a time at which the vehicle starts from the exit of the parking lot to a time at which the vehicle arrives at a destination;

deciding, in accordance with the estimated time interval, a getting-into place, of the plurality of getting-into places, to which the vehicle is to travel, based on the outgoing instruction from the user; and

informing the user and the vehicle of the decided getting-into place,

wherein the vehicle is controlled by an autonomous control system, and the computing, the deciding, and the informing occurs automatically upon reception of the outgoing instruction.

10. The parking controller according to claim 9, wherein the computing computes the estimated getting-into time interval based on user information that includes at least one of (i) a family configuration of the user, (ii) an age of the user, (iii) a time interval needed for the user to get into the vehicle, (iv) a fatigue degree of the user, (v) a number of pieces of luggage carried by the user, and (vi) a weight of the luggage carried by the user.

11. The parking controller according to claim 9, wherein the computing computes the estimated getting-into time interval based on periphery information that includes at least one of (i) a situation between the present position of the user and the parking lot, (ii) a number of outgoing instructions, and (iii) weather.

12. The parking controller according to claim 9, wherein the computing computes the exit arrival time interval based on congestion information that includes at least one of (i) a number of outgoing instructions and (ii) traffic-jam information in a periphery of the parking lot.

14. A parking control system comprising:

the parking controller according to claim 9; and

a vehicle controller that controls the vehicle based on a signal output from the parking controller.

15. A parking control method comprising:

acquiring, from data acquired at least in part using a sensor on an own vehicle, information indicating a specific parking frame, the specific parking frame being a parking frame that is specified by an external device among from a plurality of parking frames in a parking lot;

setting the specific parking frame as a target parking frame, the target parking frame being a parking frame to be a target; and

detecting a vacant parking frame while the own vehicle is travelling to the target parking frame, the vacant parking frame being a parking frame in a vacant state, and

wherein

the setting includes changing, when the vacant parking frame is detected in the detecting, the set target parking frame into the vacant parking frame, and

wherein the own vehicle is controlled by an autonomous control system, and the changing the set target parking frame into the vacant parking frame occurs automatically upon detection of the vacant parking frame.

16. A parking control method for automatically performing a parking control on a vehicle in a parking lot including a plurality of getting-into places, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user, an outgoing instruction of the vehicle parked in the parking lot;

computing, for each of the getting-into places, an estimated time interval including (i) an estimated getting-into time interval from a time at which the user starts from a present position for a corresponding getting-into place to a time at which the user gets into the vehicle, (ii) an exit arrival time interval from a time at which the vehicle starts from the corresponding getting-into place to a time at which the vehicle arrives at an exit of the parking lot, and (iii) a destination arrival time interval from a time at which the vehicle starts from the exit of the parking lot to a time at which the vehicle arrives at a destination;

deciding, in accordance with the estimated time interval, a getting-into place, of the plurality of getting-into places, to which the vehicle is to travel, based on the outgoing instruction from the user; and

informing the user and the vehicle of the decided getting-into place,

wherein the vehicle is controlled by an autonomous control system, and the computing, the deciding, and the informing occurs automatically upon reception of the outgoing instruction.