JP2019137397A - Parking support device and parking support system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology capable of selecting more safely an available parking area.SOLUTION: A parking support device for supporting parking of own vehicle includes detection means for detecting existence of an obstacle based on an image obtained by photographing the periphery of own vehicle, and detecting an available parking area for own vehicle, and selection means for selecting an available parking area suited to parking of own vehicle from among detected available parking areas based on existence of the obstacle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for supporting parking of a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for presenting an area where a host vehicle can be parked to a vehicle driver is known. In this technique, for example, the surroundings of a vehicle are photographed with a camera mounted on the vehicle, and a parking space is detected based on the photographed image. And the area | region which can be parked is shown by displaying the detected parking space on a screen. The driver can select the area to be parked from the presented parking available areas and park the vehicle. In addition, there exists patent document 1 as a technique relevant to this invention, for example.

JP 2012-1144

  However, in the case of merely presenting a parking area, when there are a plurality of parking areas, for example, a beginner driver or an elderly driver selects a parking area without considering “ease of parking”. It often ends up. In such a case, a person whose driving skill level is not so high will eventually select a parking area with a high degree of parking difficulty.

  This invention is made in view of the said subject, and provides the technique which can select the area | region which can be parked more safely with a small possibility of contacting with an obstacle at the time of parking operation or alighting. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 is a parking assistance device for assisting parking of the own vehicle, and detects the presence or absence of an obstacle based on an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the own vehicle. Appropriateness of parking for each parking area based on a detecting means for detecting a parking area that is surrounded by a parking frame and in which the vehicle can be parked, and a positional relationship between the parking area and the obstacle And a selection means for selecting a parking area suitable for parking of the host vehicle based on the parking appropriateness.

  Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the parking support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein route deriving means for deriving a movement route to the detected parking area and the derived movement route are superimposed on the captured image. Display control means.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the parking assist device according to claim 2, wherein when a plurality of the parkable areas are detected, the display control means is configured to provide a parking area where the host vehicle is parked. The moving route is superimposed on the captured image, and the moving route to another parking area is not superimposed.

  Further, the invention of claim 4 is a parking support system for supporting parking of the host vehicle, the imaging device for shooting the surroundings of the host vehicle, and the parking support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. , A parking assistance system.

  Further, the invention of claim 5 detects a presence / absence of an obstacle based on an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the host vehicle, and includes a parking area that is surrounded by a parking frame and in which the host vehicle can be parked. Based on the detection step of detecting, and the positional relationship between the parking area and the obstacle, a parking appropriate degree indicating a parking appropriate degree is derived for each of the parking possible areas, and the host vehicle is determined based on the parking appropriate degree. And a selection step for selecting a parking area suitable for parking.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a parking area that is surrounded by a parking frame and in which the host vehicle can be parked is detected while detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle based on an image taken around the host vehicle. Based on the detection step of detecting, and the positional relationship between the parking area and the obstacle, a parking appropriate degree indicating a parking appropriate degree is derived for each of the parking possible areas, and the host vehicle is determined based on the parking appropriate degree. And a selection step for selecting a parking area suitable for parking.

  According to the inventions of claims 1 to 6, since a parking area suitable for parking of the host vehicle is selected based on the presence or absence of an obstacle, the possibility of contact with the obstacle at the time of parking operation and getting off is small. It is possible to present a parking area where parking can be performed more safely.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a parking assistance system. FIG. 2 is an overhead view of the periphery of the host vehicle. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a rear image of the host vehicle. FIG. 4 is an overhead view of the surroundings of the host vehicle. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a rear image of the host vehicle. FIG. 6 is an overhead view of the surroundings of the host vehicle. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the occupant arrangement status and the parking area. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a rear image of the host vehicle. FIG. 9 is an overhead view of the periphery of the host vehicle. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a rear image of the host vehicle. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing of the parking assistance system. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an outline of the parking support system. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the surrounding situation and the evaluation value. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the parking appropriateness. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the parking appropriateness. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the processing of the parking assistance system. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the surrounding situation and the evaluation value.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<1. First Embodiment>
<1-1. Configuration of parking support system>
The parking assistance system according to the present embodiment is a system that presents a parking area where parking can be performed more safely to the driver of the vehicle when the vehicle is parked in a parking area that is a parking space of the vehicle. . In particular, the parking support system according to the present embodiment detects a parking area based on an image taken by a camera mounted on the vehicle when the vehicle is parked in a parking lot, and whether there is an obstacle around the parking area. This is a system for selecting a parking area where parking can be performed more safely. Hereinafter, the configuration of the parking assistance system will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the parking support system 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the parking support system 100 includes a photographing unit 2, a parking support device 3, a display 4, and an occupant detection unit 5.

  The photographing unit 2 includes a front camera 21, a right side camera 22, a left side camera 23, and a rear camera 24 as photographing devices, and photographs the outside of the vehicle. Each of the cameras 22 to 24 includes a wide-angle lens, digitally captures over an angle of view of 180 degrees or more, and transmits the captured image data to the parking assist device 3. By installing cameras on the front, rear, left and right of the vehicle, the photographing unit 2 can photograph the entire circumference of the vehicle. Images captured by the cameras 22 to 24 can be corrected to a flat image by image correction processing even when the image is captured with distortion caused by distortion of the wide-angle lens.

  The front camera 21 is disposed at the front end of the vehicle and photographs the front of the vehicle. The front camera 21 is disposed on a so-called front grille of the vehicle, but may be installed on the rear surface of the rearview mirror in the vehicle interior and photograph the front of the vehicle through the windshield. The right side camera 22 is installed in the case of the right side mirror of the vehicle and photographs the right side of the vehicle. The left side camera 23 is installed in a case of the left side mirror of the vehicle and photographs the left side of the vehicle. The rear camera 24 is installed at the rear of the vehicle and photographs the rear of the vehicle. The rear camera 24 is installed in the vicinity of the opening lever of the rear gate, but may be installed in the lower part of the rear spoiler. In this case, the shooting viewpoint is raised, and the rear of the vehicle can be shot farther.

  In addition, although the parking assistance system 100 of this Embodiment demonstrates the structure provided with four cameras, this invention is not limited to this. It is good also as a structure provided with any one or several camera. For example, the rear camera 24 may be provided, and each process of the present invention, such as detection of a parking area, may be executed using a captured image of the rear camera 24.

  The parking assist device 3 is an electronic control device that detects an area where the vehicle can be parked and selects a parking area suitable for parking the host vehicle from the detected parking area. The parking assist device 3 includes a control unit 31, an input / output unit 32, and a storage unit 33.

  The control unit 31 is a computer including a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM (not shown). The control unit 31 is connected to the input / output unit 32 and the storage unit 33 provided in the parking support device 3, and transmits and receives data to and from each other to control the entire parking support device 3. The control unit 31 includes a detection unit 31a, a display control unit 31b, a selection unit 31c, and a route deriving unit 31d. These units included in the control unit 31 are functions realized by the CPU performing arithmetic processing according to a program.

  The detection unit 31a detects a parking frame shown in an image outside the vehicle photographed by the photographing unit 2, and performs a process of detecting a parking area and a parking available area. A parking frame is a frame line that divides a parking space of a vehicle. The parking area is a parking space of a vehicle surrounded by a parking frame, and the parking area is an area in the parking area where there is no obstacle such as another vehicle and the own vehicle can be parked. That is.

  The detection part 31a detects a parking frame using the image image | photographed with any one or several camera of each cameras 21-24. Specifically, the parking frame is detected based on the luminance change in the captured image. Such detection processing may be performed on a predetermined area in the image. The predetermined area is, for example, an area corresponding to a road surface in an image. When the entire image is detected, the processing load becomes enormous. On the other hand, if the detection process is performed only on a predetermined area, the processing load can be reduced.

  Moreover, the detection part 31a detects a parking area based on the detected parking frame. Specifically, the detection unit 31a detects an area surrounded by the parking frame as a parking area. For example, the size of a general parking frame is stored in the storage unit 33, and the parking area is detected by comparing with the size of the area surrounded by the detected parking frame.

  And the detection part 31a detects a parking possible area | region. A vehicle cannot be parked if another vehicle is already parked in the parking area or if some object is present. Therefore, the detection unit 31a also detects the presence or absence of such an obstacle, and detects a parking area based on the parking area and the obstacle detection result in each parking area. That is, the detection unit 31a performs an obstacle detection process and also detects a parking area. At that time, the detection unit 31a detects a parking area where no obstacle exists as a parking area. Obstacles can be detected based on images taken by the photographing unit 2, but other sensors for detecting obstacles, radar devices, and the like may be separately provided for detection.

  Moreover, if the detection part 31a detects a parking area and an obstruction, it will derive | lead-out the distance of an obstruction and the adjacent parking area based on those coordinate values. For example, when the obstacle is another vehicle, the distance between the other vehicle and the adjacent parking area is derived, so how close the other vehicle is to the adjacent parking area. It can be detected.

  The display control unit 31b generates a display image to be displayed on the display 4 and controls display. The display control unit 31b captures and stores the image information captured by the imaging unit 2 as a still image or a moving image file, converts the image information into a data format that can be displayed on the display 4, and generates a display image. Is output to the display 4 via. For example, the display control unit 31b performs control to display on the display 4 an image including a parking area in which the rear of the host vehicle captured by the rear camera 24 is projected.

  The selection unit 31c is more safely based on the surrounding conditions (for example, the detection result of the obstacle in the adjacent parking region) from among all the parkingable regions detected by the detection unit 31a. Select a parking area where parking is possible. Details of the parking area selection process will be described later.

  The route deriving unit 31d derives a route for the vehicle to park in the parking area. Specifically, the route deriving unit 31d derives a moving route for parking in the parking area based on the position of the vehicle, the position of the parking area, the steering angle of the steering, and the like. The travel route derived by the route deriving unit 31d is displayed on the display 4 under the control of the display control unit 31b.

  The input / output unit 32 controls data input / output to / from the parking assistance device 3. For example, when the vehicle starts parking, the input / output unit 32 inputs a signal requesting the start of parking support control. The input / output unit 32 outputs the display control image generated by the display control unit 31 b to the display 4 in accordance with the output request from the control unit 31. The input / output unit 32 acquires image data and the like transmitted from the cameras 21 to 24 of the photographing unit 2.

  The storage unit 33 stores parking frame information 33a and parameters 33b. As the storage unit 33, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory that can electrically read and write data and does not erase data even when the power is turned off can be used. For example, the storage unit 33 is configured by an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) or a flash memory. The storage unit 33 can also be configured with a hard disk drive provided with a magnetic disk.

  The parking frame information 33a includes information such as coordinate values indicating the detected parking frame, parking area, and parking area, and coordinate values related to the degree of obstruction of the obstacle. The parameter 33b is various parameters used in the detection process. For example, a predetermined value used for edge detection when detecting a frame line, and whether or not an area surrounded by a parking frame is a parking area. It is a predetermined value or the like used for the determination.

  The display 4 is a display device that displays an image or the like provided with a touch panel 41. For example, the display 4 is a liquid crystal display.

  The touch panel 41 senses the touch of the finger on the area indicating the button displayed on the display 4 and outputs the sensed position information on the touch panel 41 to the input / output unit 32. From the position information on the display 4 sensed by the touch panel 41 and the display image information generated by the display control unit 31b, the control unit 31 can recognize the operation contents of the user. For example, when the user selects one from the vehicle seat position selection screen displayed on the display 4, information corresponding to the selected seat is transmitted to the input / output unit 32.

  The occupant detection unit 5 detects the seating position of the occupant in the vehicle. That is, it is detected in which seat the occupant is sitting. Specifically, a sensor is provided under each seat, and when the occupant sits, the sensor reacts to detect the seat that is sitting, or a vehicle interior camera, and any seat based on the camera image Various methods such as a method of detecting whether a passenger is sitting on the vehicle can be used. In addition, the user may register in advance which seat the occupant is sitting on by operating the touch panel 41.

<1-2. Parking area selection process>
Next, the process which the selection part 31c of the parking assistance apparatus 3 selects the parking possible area | region shown to a driver | operator is demonstrated. This selection process is a process of selecting a parkable area that can be parked more safely (with a low risk of contact with other vehicles, etc.) according to the status of obstacles around each detected parkable area. It is. In the present embodiment, there are a first selection process to a third selection process according to the difference in the situation of surrounding obstacles, which will be described in order.

  First, the first selection process will be described. 2 and 3 are diagrams illustrating the first selection process. FIG. 2 is a diagram for facilitating understanding of the first selection process, and is a view of the surroundings of the host vehicle 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram in which an image photographed by the rear camera 24 is displayed on the display 4.

  The first selection process is a process of selecting a parking area where there are no obstacles such as other vehicles in the adjacent left and right parking areas. In other words, it is a process of selecting a parking area other than the end area when the parking area is arranged as three or more continuous areas. This will be specifically described below.

  The parking assistance device 3 determines the position of the parking area using information such as the coordinate value of the parking area detected by the detection unit 31a. Select a parking area other than the parking area. If it demonstrates in the example of FIG. 2, the detection part 31a will first detect five parking possible area | regions PA1-PA5 which exists in the back of the own vehicle 1, if the own vehicle 1 tries to park in a parking lot in back.

  And the selection part 31c determines whether there exists the parkable area | region arrange | positioned 3 or more continuously by referring each position of each detected parkable area PA1-PA5. In the example of FIG. 2, the three areas of the parking areas PA1 to PA3 are continuous. Therefore, the selection unit 31c selects the parking area PA2 other than the end area (that is, the central area) as a parking area where parking can be performed more safely.

  Similarly, when there are four or more parking areas, a parking area other than the end area may be selected. That is, it is only necessary to select a parking area (a parking area sandwiched between parking areas) in which the adjacent left and right areas are both parking areas.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the selected parking available area can be presented to the driver by superimposing and displaying the surrounding frame line on the corresponding area on the image captured by the rear camera 24.

  In this way, safer parking with a low risk of touching other vehicles when parking and getting off by selecting a parking area where an area where no obstacle exists is adjacent and presenting it to the driver The host vehicle 1 can be parked in the possible area.

  Next, the second selection process will be described. 4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating the second selection process. FIG. 4 is a diagram for facilitating understanding of the second selection process, and is a view of the surroundings of the host vehicle 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram in which an image captured by the rear camera 24 is displayed on the display 4.

  In the second selection process, when two parking areas are arranged as a continuous area, the parking area is selected according to the distance (the degree of approach) to an obstacle such as another vehicle existing in the adjacent parking area. It is processing to do. This will be specifically described below.

  The parking support device 3 determines the position of the parking area using information such as the coordinate value of the parking area detected by the detection unit 31a. A distance from an obstacle (another vehicle) in the parking area adjacent to the possible area is derived. And the selection part 31c selects the parking possible area | region of the one where distance is large (that is, the one where a closeness is small).

  If it demonstrates in the example of FIG. 4, first, the detection part 31a will detect five parking possible areas PA6-PA10 which exist in the back of the own vehicle 1, if the own vehicle 1 tries to park in a parking lot in back.

  And the selection part 31c determines whether there exists the parkable area | region arrange | positioned 2 in succession by referring each position of each detected parkable area PA6-PA10. In the example of FIG. 4, the two areas of the parking areas PA6 and PA7 are continuous, and the selection unit 61 selects the parking area PA7 having a larger distance from the obstacle.

  Specifically, the detection unit 31a derives the distance (degree of closeness) between each parking available area and the obstacle based on the detected parking area information and the obstacle detection result. That is, the detection unit 31a derives the distance between the parking area PA6 and the other vehicle 10 parked in the adjacent parking area PA11. Moreover, the detection unit 31a derives the distance between the parking area PA7 and the other vehicle 10 parked in the adjacent parking area PA12.

  And the selection part 61 compares these each distance, and selects the parking possible area | region of the one where distance is larger (namely, the one where a closeness is small) as a parking possible area | region which can park more safely. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 4, the distance between the parking area PA7 and the other vehicle 10 parked in the parking area PA12 is greater than the distance between the parking area PA6 and the other vehicle 10 parked in the parking area PA11. Since it is large, the parking area PA7 is selected.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the selected parking available area can be presented to the driver by superimposing and displaying the surrounding frame line on the corresponding area on the image captured by the rear camera 24.

  In this way, even when there is an obstacle in the adjacent parking area, the parking operation is performed by selecting and presenting to the driver the one with the larger distance from the parking area (the one with the smaller degree of leaning). The host vehicle 1 can be parked in a safer parking area where there is a low risk of contact with other vehicles when the vehicle is getting off and when getting off.

  Next, the third selection process will be described. 6 to 8 are diagrams illustrating the third selection process. FIG. 6 is a view for facilitating understanding of the third selection process, and is a view of the surroundings of the host vehicle 1. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the occupant arrangement status and the selectable parking area. FIG. 8 is a diagram in which an image taken by the rear camera 24 is displayed on the display 4.

  The third selection process is a case where the two parking areas are arranged as a continuous area, and the distance from the obstacle such as another vehicle existing in the adjacent parking area (the degree of leaning) is about the same on the left and right. In this case, the parking area to be selected is changed in accordance with the arrangement situation of the occupant of the host vehicle 1. This will be specifically described below.

  Similar to the second selection process, the parking assistance device 3 detects the parking possible areas PA13 and PA14 arranged as two continuous areas, and derives the distance from the obstacle present in the adjacent parking area. If the left and right distances are comparable, the selection unit 31c acquires information related to the occupant placement state from the occupant detection unit 5, and selects a parking area corresponding to the occupant placement state.

  FIG. 7 shows the correspondence between each pattern in which an occupant is seated in a vehicle having four seats of “driver's seat”, “passenger seat”, “rear right seat”, and “rear left seat”, and a selectable parking area. ing. “◯” indicates that an occupant is seated in the seat, and “*” indicates a parking available area to be selected. A table indicating such a correspondence relationship may be stored in the storage unit 33 of the parking assistance device 3. Based on the information acquired from the occupant detection unit 5 and the table shown in FIG. 7, the selection unit 31 c selects a parking available area associated with the occupant arrangement status.

  For example, if the selection unit 31c determines that the occupant is sitting in the “driver's seat”, the “passenger seat”, and the “rear left seat” based on the information acquired from the occupant detection unit 5, the parking area on the right side (example in FIG. 6) Then, the parking area PA14) is selected. When the selection unit 31c determines that the occupant is sitting in the “driver's seat” and the “rear right seat” based on the information acquired from the occupant detection unit 5, the left parking area (the parking area in the example of FIG. 6). PA13) is selected.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, the number of passengers sitting in the right seat (driver's seat and rear right seat) of the vehicle and the number of passengers sitting in the left seat (passenger seat and rear left seat) of the vehicle The parking area to be selected is determined by comparing the number. When there are many passengers in the right seat, the left parking area is selected, and when there are many passengers in the left seat, the right parking area is selected. This makes it possible to avoid contact with other vehicles as much as possible when getting off after parking by selecting the side with many occupants to be an area free of obstacles.

  In the present embodiment, when the number of passengers in the right seat and the number of passengers in the left seat are the same, the right parking area is selected. This is because the driver is more likely to be used to opening and closing the door when getting off, so it is considered safer to make the passenger seat side an area free of obstacles. However, the selectable parking area may be reversed.

  For example, when the right parking area (parking area PA14 in FIG. 6) is selected, a surrounding frame line is superimposed on the corresponding area on the image captured by the rear camera 24 as shown in FIG. By displaying, the selected parking area can be presented to the driver.

  In this way, when there are obstacles in the adjacent parking area and the distance to each obstacle is about the same, the parking area is selected by selecting the parking area corresponding to the occupant's arrangement situation. The host vehicle 1 can be parked in a safer parking area where there is a low risk of contact with other vehicles when operating and getting off.

  In FIG. 7, a four-seater vehicle having four seats is described as an example, but the same applies to a vehicle with another number of seats such as a five-seater or a seven-seater. Each table may be stored in advance and a table corresponding to the number of seats of the vehicle may be used.

  In addition, as a result of the first selection process to the third selection process described above, there may be a plurality of parking available areas to be selected. In this case, all the parking possible areas may be selected or other selection conditions may be added.

  For example, the presence or absence of an obstacle in the area in front of the parking area is added to the selection condition. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, when parking in a parking lot in which a plurality of parking areas are arranged on the left and right, a method for adding to the selection condition whether another vehicle is parked in an area facing the parking area It is. In this manner, by adding whether or not another vehicle is present in the opposing parking area to the selection condition, a parking available area to be selected is determined according to the result.

  Referring to FIG. 9 as an example, when there are four consecutive parking areas, there are two parking areas (PA15 and PA16) other than the end area. Any parking area can be selected.

  Therefore, it is determined whether or not other vehicles are parked in the parking areas (PA17 and PA18) facing each parking area, and a parking area in which no other vehicles exist is selected. That is, the selection unit 31c determines whether or not the facing area is a parking area, and selects the parking area. In the example of FIG. 9, since the parking area PA17 in which no other vehicle exists and the parking area PA18 in which the other vehicle exists, the selection unit 31c can finally park in the area where the other vehicle does not exist. The area PA15 is selected.

  In addition, when there are a plurality of parkingable areas to be selected and both of the opposing areas are parkingable areas, both may be selected because they do not have superiority or inferiority.

  Further, in addition to displaying the surrounding frame line superimposed on the selected parking area, a guide line indicating the movement route to the parking area may be superimposed. By doing so, the driver can grasp not only the position of the parking area but also the movement route to the parking area. Furthermore, when there are a plurality of selected parking areas, guide lines indicating the movement routes to all the parking areas may be superimposed and displayed.

  For example, if both of the parking areas PA15 and PA16 are selected in the example shown in FIG. 9, as shown in FIG. 10, a guide line indicating the movement route to each of the parking areas PA15 and PA16 is displayed in a superimposed manner.

  In this case, when the user selects any of the parking areas, the other guide lines may be deleted leaving only the guide lines up to the selected parking area. In addition, when predicting which parking area the vehicle 1 is heading to based on the traveling direction of the host vehicle 1, only the guide lines up to the predicted parking area may be left and other guide lines may be deleted. Good.

<1-3. Processing of parking support system>
Next, the process of the parking assistance system 100 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing of the parking support system 100.

  The parking assistance system 100 is activated when the host vehicle enters a parking posture, for example, when the gear enters reverse. It is also activated when the user turns on a parking support start switch. When the parking support system 100 is activated, it detects a parking available area (step S101). That is, as described above, for example, a parking frame is detected based on a captured image of the rear camera 24 to detect a parking area. And an obstacle is detected and a parking possible area is detected based on the result.

  The parking assistance system 100 determines whether or not three or more parking areas are detected as a continuous area as a result of the parking area detection process (step S102). The parking assistance system 100 determines whether or not the parking assistance system 100 is continuous based on the coordinate value of the parking area.

  When three or more parking areas are continuous (Yes in step S102), the parking assistance system 100 executes a first selection process (step S103). That is, a parking area other than the end area of the continuous parking area is selected. And the parking assistance system 100 superimposes and displays a surrounding frame line on the position corresponding to the selected parking possible area | region on the image image | photographed with the rear camera 24 (step S109).

  On the other hand, when three or more parking areas are not continuous (No in step S102), the parking support system 100 determines whether or not two parking areas are detected as continuous areas. (Step S104). If there are two consecutive parking areas (Yes in step S104), the parking support system 100 determines whether or not the distance between each parking area and the obstacle in the adjacent area (degree of closeness) is approximately the same. Is determined (step S105). For example, the determination can be made by deriving the distance based on the coordinate value between the parking frame or the parkable area detected based on the captured image of the rear camera 24 and the obstacle detection result.

  When the distance between each parking area and the obstacle is not the same (No in step S105), the second selection process is executed. That is, the parking support system 100 compares the distances and selects the larger parking area. And the parking assistance system 100 superimposes and displays a surrounding frame line on the position corresponding to the selected parking possible area | region on the image image | photographed with the rear camera 24 (step S109).

  On the other hand, when the distance between each parking area and the obstacle is approximately the same (Yes in step S105), the third selection process is executed. That is, the parking assistance system 100 selects a parking area corresponding to the arrangement situation of the occupant of the host vehicle. And the parking assistance system 100 superimposes and displays a surrounding frame line on the position corresponding to the selected parking possible area | region on the image image | photographed with the rear camera 24 (step S109).

  Further, when the two parking areas are not detected as two consecutive areas (No in step S104), the parking support system 100 determines whether one parking area is detected (step S108). When one parking area is detected (Yes in step S108), the parking support system 100 surrounds the frame at a position corresponding to the detected parking area on the image captured by the rear camera 24. The line is superimposed and displayed (step S109).

  On the other hand, when no parking area is detected (No in step S108), the parking support system 100 ends without performing processing such as selection or presentation of the parking area.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, the second selection process or the third selection process is executed in accordance with the distance from the obstacle when two parking areas are detected as continuous areas. It is not limited to. For example, only the third selection process may be executed without considering the distance from the obstacle. That is, in this case, the parking area is selected according to the occupant arrangement status regardless of the distance to the obstacle.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, a process may be added in which whether or not an obstacle exists in the front area of the parking area is included in the selection condition. In this case, the parking support system 100 performs an obstacle presence / absence determination process in the front area facing after the first selection process (step S103), the second selection process (step S106), or the third selection process (step S107). To select a parking area where there is no obstacle. And the parking assistance system 100 performs a surrounding frame line display with respect to the selected parking possible area | region (step S109).

  Moreover, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, you may add the process which superimposes and displays the guide line which shows the movement path | route to the selected parking possible area | region. In this case, after the parking area is selected, the guide line may be superimposed and displayed together with the surrounding frame line. Furthermore, when a plurality of parking areas are selected and a plurality of guide lines are displayed, a process of displaying only the guide lines to the parking area where the host vehicle is about to park may be added. In this case, when the parking available area to be parked is determined by the user's instruction or the parking available area to be parked is determined from the prediction result of the traveling direction of the host vehicle, the movement path to the determined parking available area is determined. It is only necessary to perform processing for deleting other guide lines while leaving only the guide lines shown.

<2. Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the parkable area to be presented to the driver is selected based on the arrangement of the detected parkable areas and the occupant arrangement state has been described. However, the present invention is limited to this. It is not something. For example, an evaluation value indicating the appropriateness of parking is set according to the surrounding situation such as the presence or absence of an obstacle, and the appropriateness of parking is quantified using the evaluation value for each detected parking possible area. It is good also as a structure which selects the parking possible area | region shown to a driver | operator based on this. Hereinafter, this configuration will be described with a focus on differences from the first embodiment.

<2-1. Configuration of parking support system>
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of parking assist system 200 according to the present embodiment. Similar to the first embodiment, the parking support system 200 according to the present embodiment is a system that presents a parking area where parking can be performed more safely to the driver of the vehicle.

  As illustrated in FIG. 12, the parking support system 200 includes a photographing unit 2, a parking support device 3, a display 4, and an occupant detection unit 5. Among these, since the imaging | photography part 2, the display 4, and the passenger | crew detection part 5 are the structures similar to each structure demonstrated in the parking assistance system 100 of 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The parking assist device 3 is an electronic control device that detects an area where the vehicle can be parked and selects a parking area suitable for parking the host vehicle from the detected parking area. The parking assist device 3 includes a control unit 31, an input / output unit 32, and a storage unit 33.

  The parking support device 3 of the present embodiment is based on the point that the evaluation value 33c is stored in the storage unit 33 and the point that the selection unit 31c selects a parking area using the evaluation value 33c. It is different from the form. Since the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the following description will focus on differences.

  The evaluation value 33c is a value indicating the degree of appropriateness including the parking difficulty level set for each evaluation item, with the situation around the host vehicle such as the state of an obstacle as an evaluation item. The parking assist device 3 according to the present embodiment uses the evaluation value 33c to select a parking area that can be parked more safely as a parking area suitable for parking from the detected parking areas. To do.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the evaluation value 33c. As shown in FIG. 13, the evaluation value 33c is a value associated with a situation such as the presence or absence of a surrounding obstacle, and is a value indicating the appropriateness of parking including the parking difficulty level in each situation. For example, in the example of FIG. 13, the evaluation value corresponding to the evaluation item “no obstacle on both sides” when there is no obstacle in the left and right areas adjacent to the parking area is “1”, and there is an obstacle on the right side. The evaluation value corresponding to the evaluation item “There is an obstacle on the right side” is set to “2”. Thus, in the example of FIG. 13, the evaluation value is set to be smaller as the evaluation item is in a situation where parking is easier (a situation where parking difficulty is lower). In the case of the same level of parking difficulty, the evaluation value is set to be smaller as it is suitable for parking.

  Note that the evaluation values shown in FIG. 13 are merely examples and can be changed as appropriate. It is also possible to add other situations as surrounding situations. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a point addition method of adding evaluation values corresponding to a corresponding situation is employed, but a point deduction method of subtracting evaluation values may be employed.

  The selection unit 31c derives the parking appropriateness using the evaluation value 33c for all the parking possible regions detected by the detection unit 31a, and selects the parking possible region to be presented to the driver based on the result.

<2-2. Parking area selection process>
Next, the process which the selection part 31c of the parking assistance apparatus 3 selects the parking possible area | region shown to a driver | operator is demonstrated. This selection process derives the parking appropriateness using the evaluation value 33c set according to the situation around the host vehicle such as the presence or absence of obstacles around each detected parking area, and based on the result. This is a process of selecting a parkable area that can be parked more safely (low risk of contact with other vehicles or the like).

  This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a diagram for facilitating the understanding of the parking area selection process, and is an overhead view of the surroundings of the host vehicle 1.

  FIG. 14 shows an example in which five parking areas PA21 to PA25 are detected as a result of performing the same detection process as in the first embodiment. The selection unit 31c determines whether or not the detected surrounding area corresponds to the surrounding situation illustrated in FIG. 13 and performs a process of adding an evaluation value corresponding to the corresponding situation.

  When the parking area PA21 is specifically described as an example, an obstacle (another vehicle) exists in the parking area on the left side of the parking area PA21, and the distance from the obstacle is medium. “2” is added. Furthermore, since an obstacle (another vehicle) is also present in the front area, the evaluation value “2” is added. That is, the parking appropriateness of the parking area PA21 is 3 + 2 + 2 = 7.

  In the case of the parking area PA22, since there are no obstacles in the areas on both sides of the parking area PA22 and there are no obstacles in the front area, only “1” is added to the evaluation value. That is, the parking appropriateness of the parking area PA22 is 1.

  Similarly, when the parking appropriateness of other parking areas is derived, the parking appropriateness of the parking areas PA23, PA24, and PA25 is 6, 8, and 10, respectively. The selection part 31c will select the parking possible area | region where the parking appropriateness degree is the lowest (the sum of evaluation values is the smallest), if the parking appropriateness degree is derived for all the parking possible areas. In the example of FIG. 14, the parking area PA22 is selected.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, by deriving the parking appropriateness using the evaluation value set for each evaluation item such as the presence or absence of surrounding obstacles, the other vehicle etc. is contacted at the time of parking operation and getting off. Thus, the host vehicle 1 can be parked in a safer parking area where the risk is low.

  In addition, after the parking area is selected, the parking area is displayed to the driver by superimposing a surrounding frame line on the corresponding position on the image photographed by the rear camera 24 as in the first embodiment. Can be presented (see, for example, FIG. 3). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a surrounding frame line may be displayed in a superimposed manner at a corresponding position in the overhead image and presented to the driver. Further, in these cases, the derived parking appropriateness may also be displayed at corresponding positions in the selected parking area and other parking areas.

  In the process of selecting the parking area, an allowable value may be set in advance. The allowable value is a threshold value of parking appropriateness used when selecting a parking area. For example, the parking assistance device 3 is used by a method of selecting all the possible parking areas having a parking appropriateness level equal to or less than an allowable value.

  This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram for facilitating the understanding of the parking area selection process, and is an overhead view of the surroundings of the host vehicle 1.

  FIG. 15 shows an example in which six parking areas PA26 to PA31 are detected as a result of performing the same detection process as in the first embodiment. The selection part 31c performs the process which derives | leads-out the parking appropriate degree similarly to the case of FIG. 14 for every detected parking possible area | region. As a result, the appropriate parking degrees of the parking areas PA26 to PA31 are 7, 1, 3, 4, 7 and 9, respectively.

  Here, if the allowable value is set to “3”, a parking area PA27 having a parking appropriateness level “1” and a parking area PA28 having a parking appropriateness level “3” are selected, and other parking is possible. The area is not selected. That is, a parking available area having a parking appropriate degree that is equal to or less than the allowable value is selected, and a parking available area having a parking appropriate degree that exceeds the allowable value is not selected.

  In this case as well, after selecting a parking area, a surrounding frame line may be superimposed on the corresponding position on the image captured by the rear camera 24, or the surrounding frame may be displayed at the corresponding position on the overhead image. Lines may be superimposed and displayed. Moreover, you may display together the parking appropriateness of the selected parking possible area | region, and the parking appropriateness of another parking possible area | region.

<2-3. Processing of parking support system>
Next, the process of the parking assistance system 200 will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the processing of the parking support system 200.

  As in the first embodiment, the parking assist system 200 starts when the host vehicle enters a parking posture, for example, when the gear enters reverse. It is also activated when the user turns on a parking support start switch. When the parking assistance system 200 is activated, it detects a parking available area (step S201). This is the same processing as step S101 described above.

  Then, the parking assistance system 200 derives the parking appropriateness (step S202). As described above, this is performed by adding an evaluation value associated with each evaluation item, such as the surrounding situation, to all detected parking areas.

  And the parking assistance system 200 determines whether the allowable value is set (step S203). When the allowable value is set (Yes in step S203), the parking support system 200 selects a parking area where the derived parking appropriateness (total value of evaluation values) is equal to or smaller than the allowable value (step S204). . On the other hand, when the allowable value is not set (No in step S203), the parking support system 200 selects a parking area where the derived parking appropriateness (total value of evaluation values) is the smallest (step S205). .

  And the parking assistance system 200 superimposes and displays a surrounding frame line on the position corresponding to the selected parking possible area | region on the image image | photographed with the rear camera 24 (step S206). When displaying the bird's-eye view image, a surrounding frame line is superimposed on the corresponding position on the bird's-eye view image, and when displaying the parking appropriateness, the appropriateness of parking is set at the position corresponding to the parking area. indicate.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 16, a process of superimposing and displaying a guide line indicating the movement route to the selected parking area may be added. In this case, after the parking area is selected, the guide line may be superimposed and displayed together with the surrounding frame line. Furthermore, when a plurality of parking areas are selected and a plurality of guide lines are displayed, a process of displaying only the guide lines to the parking area where the host vehicle is about to park may be added. In this case, when the parking available area to be parked is determined by the user's instruction or the parking available area to be parked is determined from the prediction result of the traveling direction of the host vehicle, the movement path to the determined parking available area is determined. It is only necessary to perform processing for deleting other guide lines while leaving only the guide lines shown.

<3. Modification>
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made. Below, such a modification is demonstrated. All the embodiments including the embodiments described above and the embodiments described below can be appropriately combined.

  In the second embodiment, the evaluation value may be changed in accordance with the arrangement situation of the occupants of the host vehicle. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining an evaluation value in this modification. As shown in FIG. 17, the evaluation value is changed in accordance with the arrangement situation of the passenger of the own vehicle such as the presence or absence of a passenger seat. “With passenger seat” means that a passenger is present in the passenger seat of the own vehicle, and “No passenger seat” means that no passenger is present in the passenger seat of the own vehicle.

  In the example of FIG. 17, the evaluation values corresponding to the evaluation items “There are obstacles on the right side” and “There are obstacles on the left side” are different depending on whether the passenger is present in the passenger seat or not. If there are passengers in the passenger seat, it is preferable to park with a space on the left side of the vehicle in order to make it safer for passengers to enter and exit the passenger seat. This is because when there is no occupant, it is preferable to park in a state where a space is left on the right side of the host vehicle in order to make it safer for the driver to get on and off.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the placement status of the luggage may be included in the placement status of the occupant. That is, the parking area to be selected is changed according to which seat the luggage is placed on. Even if no occupant is seated, the seat carrying the luggage may open and close the door when getting off. By making a selection considering the arrangement state of the luggage, the risk of contacting other vehicles or the like when the luggage is taken in or out can be minimized.

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, you may select in consideration of the presence or absence of the obstruction behind the parking possible area | region. Considering obstacles behind, for example, when another vehicle is parked behind the parking area, the risk of contacting the other vehicle when the back door is opened and closed can be minimized.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, it has been described that various functions are realized in software by the arithmetic processing of the CPU according to the program. However, some of these functions are realized by an electrical hardware circuit. May be. Conversely, some of the functions realized by the hardware circuit may be realized by software.

2 shooting unit 3 parking support device 4 display 5 occupant detection unit 100/200 parking support system

Claims (6)

A parking assistance device for assisting parking of the own vehicle,
Detection means for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle based on an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the host vehicle, and detecting a parking area surrounded by a parking frame and capable of parking the host vehicle;
Based on the positional relationship between the parkable area and the obstacle, a parking appropriateness indicating the appropriateness of parking is derived for each parkingable area, and parking suitable for parking the host vehicle is based on the parking appropriateness. A selection means for selecting a possible area;
A parking assistance device comprising: In the parking assistance device according to claim 1,
Route deriving means for deriving a movement route to the detected parking area;
Display control means for displaying the derived movement route superimposed on the captured image;
A parking assistance device, further comprising: In the parking assistance device according to claim 2,
If multiple parking areas are detected,
The parking support device, wherein the display control means displays a moving route to a parking area where the host vehicle is parked on the captured image, and does not display a moving path to another parking area. A parking support system that supports parking of the host vehicle,
A photographing device for photographing the surroundings of the host vehicle;
The parking assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A parking assistance system characterized by comprising: A detection step for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle based on an image of the surroundings of the host vehicle and detecting a parking area surrounded by a parking frame and capable of parking the host vehicle;
Based on the positional relationship between the parkable area and the obstacle, a parking appropriateness indicating the appropriateness of parking is derived for each parkingable area, and parking suitable for parking the host vehicle is based on the parking appropriateness. A selection step for selecting possible areas;
The parking assistance method characterized by comprising. A detection step for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle based on an image of the surroundings of the host vehicle and detecting a parking area surrounded by a parking frame and capable of parking the host vehicle;
Based on the positional relationship between the parkable area and the obstacle, a parking appropriateness indicating the appropriateness of parking is derived for each parkingable area, and parking suitable for parking the host vehicle is based on the parking appropriateness. A selection step for selecting possible areas;
A program for causing a computer to execute a parking support method.