Parking assistance apparatus

• US 7,012,549 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2002
• Issued: 03/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Mizusawa, Kazufumi, Yoshida, Takashi, Okamoto, Shusaku, Iida, Ryosuke, Hirama, Yuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): MULLEN, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US10/128,016
• Publication Number:
  US 20020175832A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 340/932.2, 348/119, 348/148, 348/113, 348/118, 701/1, 701/41
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/10 Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/028 Guided parking by providing commands to the driver, e.g. acoustically or optically
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation

Abstract

Parking assistance apparatus that displays on a screen an image shot by image picking-up apparatus mounted on a vehicle. The parking assistance apparatus superimposes a guide line that is parallel to the line tangent to the predicted outer locus of the vehicle assumed when the vehicle is backed with the wheel at the maximum steering angle. This allows the driver to drive the vehicle so that the guide line will not overlap the image of another vehicle thus allowing parking that avoids any contact.

Claims

1. Parking assistance apparatus that displays on a screen an image picked up by image picking-up means mounted on a vehicle, wherein said parking assistance apparatus comprises control means for superimposing on said screen a guide that is parallel to a line that is tangent to an outer predicted travel locus of said vehicle, the guide being spaced apart from said outer predicted travel locus at a predetermined distance in an outward direction relative to the outer predicted travel locus when said vehicle is being backed up while a steering wheel of said vehicle is being turned.

2. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said guide is a guide line.

3. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control means comprises means for superimposing on said screen an auxiliary guide line for enhancing said guide line, said auxiliary line extending in a direction that crosses said guide line at a predetermined angle.

4. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the angle formed by said guide line and said auxiliary line is 90 degrees.

5. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said screen displays a mark indicating a width of the vehicle or a mark indicating a width of the vehicle including a predetermined distance margin.

6. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control means comprises means for superimposing on said screen a second guide that is parallel to a second line that is tangent to an outer predicted travel locus of said vehicle, the second guide being spaced apart at a predetermined distance from said outer predicted travel locus in an outward direction relative to the outer predicted travel locus when said vehicle is being backed up while a steering wheel of said vehicle is positioned at a maximum steering angle in the direction opposite to said second guide line.

7. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said screen displays a mark indicating a width of the vehicle or a mark indicating a width of the vehicle including a predetermined distance margin.

8. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said guide line is displayed as a border between two areas having contrasting colors.

9. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said picked up image displayed on said screen has undergone processing to remove lens distortion of said image picking-up means.

10. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said picked up image displayed on said screen has undergone viewpoint conversion processing to convert an image picked up by said image picking-up means to an image picked up by an imaginary image picking up means installed at an arbitrary position.

11. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that said picked up image has undergone the viewpoint conversion processing where a straight line picked up by said image picking-up means is represented as a straight line in an image after viewpoint conversion.

12. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said parking assistance apparatus displays said guide lines in accordance with the rules of perspective.

13. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said guide comprises a plurality of collinear points equidistantly spaced apart by a predetermined distance.

14. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

control means including means for splitting said screen into a first area for displaying an area in close proximity of a vehicle and a second area for displaying the area except said area in close proximity of the vehicle,

means for viewpoint-converting an image of an area in close proximity of a vehicle to an image where a straight line picked up by said image picking-up means is represented as a straight line on the screen and displaying the resulting image in said first area,

means for displaying in said second area an image of the neighborhood of a vehicle as a panoramically viewpoint-converted image continuous to the image displayed in said first area, and

means for displaying a boundary between said first area and said second area.

15. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control means for superimposing on said picked up image a guide indicating a boundary of an area where said vehicle can pass through when said vehicle is backed.

16. Parking assistance apparatus that displays on a screen the image picked up by image picking-up means mounted on a vehicle, wherein said parking assistance apparatus comprises control means for superimposing on said screen a guide that is parallel to a line that is tangent to an outer predicted travel locus of said vehicle, the guide being spaced apart from said outer predicted travel locus at a predetermined distance in an outward direction relative to the outer predicted travel locus when said vehicle is being backed up while a steering wheel of said vehicle is positioned at a maximum steering angle.

17. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said guide is a guide line.

18. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in that the control means comprises means for superimposing on said screen an auxiliary guide line for enhancing said guide line, said auxiliary line extending in a direction that crosses said guide line at a predetermined angle.

19. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the angle formed by said guide line and said auxiliary line is 90 degrees.

20. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said screen displays a mark indicating a width of the vehicle or a mark indicating a width of the vehicle including a predetermined distance margin.

21. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said control means comprises means for superimposing on said screen a second guide that is parallel to a second line that is tangent to an outer predicted travel locus of said vehicle the second guide being spaced apart at a predetermined distance from said outer predicted travel locus in an outward direction relative to the outer predicted travel locus when said vehicle is being backed up while a steering wheel of said vehicle is positioned at a maximum steering angle in the direction opposite to said second guide line.

22. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said screen displays a mark indicating a width of the vehicle or a mark indicating a width of the vehicle including a predetermined distance margin.

23. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in that said guide line is displayed a border between two areas having contrasting colors.

24. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that said picked up image displayed on said screen has undergone processing to remove lens distortion of said image picking-up means.

25. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that said picked up image displayed on said screen has undergone viewpoint conversion processing to convert an image picked up by said image picking-up means to an image picked up by an imaginary image picking up means installed at an arbitrary position.

26. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 25, characterized in that said picked up image has undergone the viewpoint conversion processing where a straight line picked up by said image picking-up means is represented as a straight line in an image after viewpoint conversion.

27. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that said parking assistance apparatus displays said guide lines in accordance with the rules of perspective.

28. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said guide comprises a plurality of collinear points equidistantly spaced apart by a predetermined distance.

29. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising

control means including means for splitting said screen into a first area for displaying an area in close proximity of a vehicle and a second area for displaying the area except said area in close proximity of the vehicle,

means for viewpoint-converting an image of an area in close proximity of a vehicle out to an image where a straight line picked up by said image picking-up means is represented as a straight line on the screen and displaying the resulting image in said first area,

means for displaying in said second area an image of the neighborhood of a vehicle as a panoramically viewpoint-converted image continuous to the image displayed in said first area, and

means for displaying a boundary between said first area and said second area.

30. Parking assistance apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising control means for superimposing on said picked up image a guide indicating a boundary of an area where said vehicle can pass through when said vehicle is backed.