Method and device for an assistance system in a vehicle for performing an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving maneuver

• US 9,511,723 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2012
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Eckert, Alfred, Bayer, Ronald, Lueke, Stefan, Piller, Bernd, Halasy-Wimmer, Georg
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan k
• Application Number:
  US14/241,275
• Publication Number:
  US 20140379197A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,568 Days
• Field of Search: 701/28, 701/70
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/00 Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for devices for protecting vehicle occupants in case of accidents B60R21/00; safety belts B60R22/00; central door locking E05B49/00, E05B77/50
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/02 electric constitutive elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/80 characterised by the intended use of the viewing arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/10 Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/06 Automatic manoeuvring for parking
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18 Propelling the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0098 Details of control systems ensuring comfort, safety or stability not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/586 of parking space
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A method and a device for an assistance system, e.g. a parking assistance system, perform an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving maneuver of a vehicle. A camera system generates image data from the surroundings of the vehicle. A processor arrangement processes the image data to produce control information that is used by the assistance system to perform the driving maneuver. If the image data show that a restriction or impediment is present, then the assistance system is put in a safe state.

Claims

1. A method for an assistance system that serves to perform an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving maneuver of a vehicle and in which, by a camera system, image data are generated from the surroundings of the vehicle and processed in order to perform the driving maneuver,

characterized in that the assistance system is put in a safe state when at least the image data show that a respective camera alignment of at least one camera of the camera system deviates from a defined alignment.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that

the camera system of the assistance system is a system in which individual images from various regions of the surroundings of the vehicle are acquired by several cameras and suitably transformed by image processing devices in order to generate an overall image of the surroundings of the vehicle thereby, and

the overall image is processed in order to perform the driving maneuver and in order to determine the camera alignment.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the assistance system is put in the safe state if additionally at least one region of the surroundings of the vehicle is not illuminated at all or is illuminated below a particular brightness threshold value.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the assistance system is put in the safe state if additionally at least one of the following operating conditions is present:

vehicle door open

vehicle trunk open

vehicle hood open

vehicle mirror swung out

vehicle mirror swung in

passengers present in the vehicle

people present in an immediate vicinity of the vehicle.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the presence of the at least one operating condition is detected by image processing of the image data acquired by the camera system.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that in the safe state of the assistance system, the vehicle is stopped.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that in the safe state of the assistance system, the vehicle and/or the assistance system is respectively put in an initial state.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising signaling a driver of the vehicle that the camera alignment deviates from the defined alignment and/or that the assistance system has been or is being put in the safe state.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the autonomous or semi-autonomous driving maneuver performed by the assistance system is a parking maneuver to get the vehicle into or out of a parking space.

9. An assistance system for performing an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving maneuver of a vehicle, comprising:

a camera system that acquires individual images from various regions of the surroundings of a vehicle by several cameras and suitably transforms said individual images by image processing devices to generate an overall image of the surroundings of the vehicle thereby, and

a processor arrangement configured to process the overall image of the surroundings of the vehicle to perform the driving maneuver and to determine a respective camera alignment of at least one camera of the camera system,

wherein the processor arrangement is further configured to put the assistance system in a safe state when the camera alignment deviates from a defined alignment.

10. A method of carrying out an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving maneuver of a motor vehicle, comprising:

with a camera mounted on said vehicle, producing image data indicative of surroundings in an environment outside of said vehicle;

in a processor arrangement, evaluating said image data to determine whether said camera is oriented according to or deviating from a predefined alignment;

when said camera is determined to be oriented according to said predefined alignment, processing said image data in said processor arrangement to produce control information, providing said control information to a driver assistance system of said vehicle, and dependent on said control information controlling said vehicle autonomously or semi-autonomously by said driver assistance system to perform said driving maneuver; and

when said camera is determined to be oriented deviating from said predefined alignment, blocking or interrupting the autonomous or semi-autonomous control of said vehicle by said driver assistance system, and switching said driver assistance system to a safe state which comprises at least one of;

stopping said vehicle, returning said driver assistance system to an initial state thereof, and returning controls of said vehicle to an initial state thereof.