JP7518668B2 - Parking assistance device and parking assistance method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a parking assistance device and a parking assistance method.

Parking assistance devices that assist with parking a vehicle are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a parking assistance method that acquires surrounding environment information at the time of entry based on spatial information data acquired when the vehicle moves into the parking lot, acquires possible exit space information, which is a spatial area in which an exit route for the vehicle can be generated while avoiding interference with obstacles, based on the acquired surrounding environment information at the time of entry, and generates an exit route for the vehicle from the current vehicle position to a target exit area within the acquired possible exit space.

JP 2018-69758 A

However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose the direction in which the vehicle is desired to leave the parking lot, and the vehicle cannot be allowed to leave the parking lot in the desired direction.
An object of the present invention is to allow a vehicle to leave the parking lot in a desired direction.

In order to achieve the above object, the parking assistance device of the present invention includes a situation acquisition unit that acquires a situation around a vehicle parked in a parking space, an exit area detection unit that detects an exit area that is to be the exit position of the vehicle based on the situation around the vehicle acquired by the situation acquisition unit, a route calculation unit that calculates an exit route that is a movement route from the parking space to the exit area, a display control unit that causes the exit area to be displayed on a display unit, a reception unit that receives a selection of the exit area, an output unit that outputs control information for causing the vehicle to travel according to the exit route corresponding to the exit area received by the reception unit, an information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the parking mode of the vehicle parked in the parking space and information regarding an entrance and exit of the parking lot, and and a selection unit that, when the information regarding the parking style of the vehicle acquired by the information acquisition unit is parallel parking or forward parking and multiple exit areas are detected by the exit area detection unit, selects one of the multiple exit areas with the shorter distance based on the distance between the multiple exit areas and the entrance/exit, wherein the output unit outputs control information for moving the vehicle to the exit area selected by the selection unit, and the display control unit, when the information regarding the parking style of the vehicle acquired by the information acquisition unit is backward parking and multiple exit areas are detected by the exit area detection unit, displays the multiple exit areas on the display unit, and the output unit outputs control information for moving the vehicle to the exit area accepted by the reception unit .

According to the present invention, the vehicle can be directed out in the desired direction.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen displayed on a touch panel. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen displayed on a touch panel. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen displayed on a touch panel. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the parking assistance device of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a method for selecting a delivery area. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a method for selecting a delivery area. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the parking assistance device of the second embodiment.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle device 3A mounted on a vehicle. In the following, the vehicle mounting the in-vehicle device 3A is referred to as a host vehicle 1A. In addition, a vehicle other than the host vehicle 1A is referred to as a different vehicle 1B.
The in-vehicle device 3A includes a position detection unit 10, a sensor section 20, a wireless communication section 50, a display section 60, a vehicle control unit 70, a steering device 71, a drive device 73, a braking device 75, a transmission 77, and a parking assistance device 100A.

The position detection unit 10 detects the current position of the vehicle 1A. The position detection unit 10 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver that receives GNSS signals, and a processor that calculates the latitude and longitude, which are the current position of the vehicle 1A, based on the GNSS signals received by the GNSS receiver. The GNSS receiver and processor are not shown. The position detection unit 10 outputs the latitude and longitude indicating the current position of the vehicle 1A to the parking assistance device 100A as position information.

The sensor unit 20 includes multiple sensors. In this embodiment, the sensor unit 20 includes a photographing unit 30 having multiple cameras, and a sonar unit 40. In this embodiment, the sensor unit 20 includes a camera and a sonar, but the sensor of the sensor unit 20 is not limited to a camera and a sonar. For example, the sensor unit 20 may be equipped with a radar or a LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) that can measure the distance to an obstacle using radio waves, light, etc. The sensor unit 20 outputs the captured image of the photographing unit 30 and the sensor data of the sonar unit 40 to the parking assistance device 100A as detection information.

The photographing unit 30 includes a front camera 31 that photographs the front of the vehicle 1A, a rear camera 32 that photographs the rear of the vehicle 1A, a left side camera 33 that photographs the left side of the vehicle 1A, and a right side camera 34 that photographs the right side of the vehicle 1A. Each of these cameras includes an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor), and a data processing circuit that generates an image from the light receiving state of the image sensor. The photographing unit 30 has an angle of view adjusted so that the four cameras can photograph a 360° range centered on the vehicle 1A. The front camera 31, the rear camera 32, the left side camera 33, and the right side camera 34 each photograph their own photographing range at a predetermined frame rate to generate a photographed image. The front camera 31, the rear camera 32, the left side camera 33, and the right side camera 34 output the generated photographed image to the parking assistance device 100A.

The sonar units 40 are mounted in multiple locations on the vehicle 1A, such as the front, rear, left and right sides, and use ultrasonic waves to detect the size, position and distance to obstacles present around the vehicle 1A.

The wireless communication unit 50 performs wireless communication according to a wireless communication standard such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) under the control of the parking assistance device 100A.

The display unit 60 includes a touch panel 65, and displays an image based on image data generated by the parking assistance device 100A on the touch panel 65. The touch panel 65 includes a display panel such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, and a touch sensor that detects a touch operation on the display panel. The touch sensor may be a commonly known type of sensor such as a resistive film type or a capacitive type. The touch panel 65 detects a touch operation on the display panel using the touch sensor, and generates a position signal that indicates the operation position of the detected touch operation. The touch panel 65 outputs operation information including the generated position signal to the parking assistance device 100A.

The vehicle control unit 70 is a computer device such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), and is a unit that controls the steering device 71, drive device 73, braking device 75, and transmission device 77 mounted on the host vehicle 1A. The vehicle control unit 70 is connected to the steering device 71, drive device 73, braking device 75, and transmission device 77 via an in-vehicle network such as a CAN (Controller Area Network). The vehicle control unit 70 controls the steering device 71, drive device 73, braking device 75, and transmission device 77 according to control information input from the parking assistance device 100A.

The steering device 71 is a device including an actuator for steering the steering wheels of the host vehicle 1A.
The drive device 73 is a device including an actuator that adjusts the drive force of the drive wheels of the host vehicle 1 A. If the power source of the host vehicle 1 A is an engine, this actuator corresponds to a throttle actuator, and if the power source is a motor, this actuator corresponds to the motor.
The braking device 75 is a device that includes an actuator that controls a brake system provided in the host vehicle 1A based on information from the parking assistance device 100A and controls the braking force applied to the wheels of the host vehicle 1A.
The transmission 77 is a device including a transmission and an actuator. The transmission 77 drives the actuator to control the shift position of the transmission, and changes the gear ratio of the transmission and switches between forward and reverse travel of the host vehicle 1A.

The parking assistance device 100A is a computer device that includes a processor 130 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Microprocessor Unit), and a memory 110 such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory). In addition to these devices, the parking assistance device 100A also includes a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), an interface circuit for connecting sensors and peripheral devices, and an in-vehicle network communication circuit for communicating with other in-vehicle devices via an in-vehicle network. The parking assistance device 100A realizes various functional configurations by having the processor execute computer programs stored in the memory 110 or the storage device.

The memory 110 stores computer programs executed by the processor 130, data processed when the processor 130 executes the computer programs, and data resulting from the processing. The memory 110 also stores images captured by the image capture unit 30 and sensor data from the sonar unit 40.

The parking assistance device 100A has the following functional components: a position acquisition unit 131, a situation acquisition unit 133, an exit area detection unit 134, a route calculation unit 135, a display control unit 136, a reception unit 137, and a control information generation unit 139.

The latitude and longitude indicating the current position of the vehicle 1A calculated by the position detection unit 10 are input to the position acquisition unit 131 as position information. The position acquisition unit 131 estimates the current position of the vehicle 1A using a publicly known or well-known dead reckoning method, and corrects the current position of the vehicle input from the position detection unit 10 based on the estimation result.

The situation acquisition unit 133 receives, as detection information, images of the surroundings of the vehicle 1A captured by the image capture unit 30. The situation acquisition unit 133 temporarily stores the input captured images in the memory 110. In addition, the situation acquisition unit 133 receives, as detection information, sensor data from the sonar unit 40. The situation acquisition unit 133 temporarily stores the input sensor data in the memory 110.

The situation acquisition unit 133 detects the situation around the vehicle 1A based on the captured images stored in the memory 110 and the sensor data. The surrounding situation detected by the situation acquisition unit 133 includes the presence or absence of obstacles, parking areas, the driving route along which the vehicle 1A is traveling, and the like. Obstacles include, for example, people, other vehicles 1B, structures such as pillars in a parking lot, shopping carts, and the like.

The exit area detection unit 134 detects the exit area which is the position where the vehicle 1A is to exit from the parking space.
When automatic exit is selected by operating the touch panel 65 while the vehicle 1A is parked in a parking space, the exit area detection unit 134 starts detecting the exit area. For example, the exit area detection unit 134 detects the exit area on the passage facing the parking space where the vehicle 1A is parked. The exit area detection unit 134 also detects the exit area taking into consideration the orientation of the vehicle 1A when the vehicle 1A is moved to the exit area. For example, when detecting the exit area on the passage, the exit area detection unit 134 detects the exit area so that the vehicle length direction of the vehicle 1A is approximately parallel to the traffic direction of the passage.
In addition, the exit area detection unit 134 may detect, in addition to an aisle, a parking space in which no other vehicle 1B is parked or an evacuation area provided within the parking lot as the exit area.

The route calculation unit 135 generates an exit route, which is a route for moving the vehicle 1A from the position of the parking space to the exit area detected by the exit area detection unit 134. The route calculation unit 135 generates the exit route based on the situation around the vehicle 1A detected by the situation acquisition unit 133. For example, when an obstacle is detected by the situation acquisition unit 133, the route calculation unit 135 generates an exit route for moving the vehicle 1A to the exit area while avoiding a collision with the detected obstacle.

The display control unit 135 generates a display image to be displayed on the touch panel 65. The display control unit 135 causes the generated display image to be displayed on the touch panel 65.

2 to 4 are diagrams showing examples of the display screen 80 displayed on the touch panel 65 under the control of the display control unit 135. In particular, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show examples of the display screen 80 displayed on the touch panel 65 when a plurality of output areas are detected by the output area detection unit 134.
An icon 5A indicating the vehicle 1A, an icon 5B indicating the other vehicle 1B, images 81A, 81B indicating the leaving area, and images 82A, 82B indicating the leaving route are displayed on the display screen 80. Also, the display screen 80 may be configured to display the icon 5A indicating the vehicle 1A, the icon 5B indicating the other vehicle 1B, and the images 81A, 81B indicating the leaving area, but not to display the images 82A, 82B indicating the leaving route.

Figure 2 shows the display on the display screen 80 when the parking mode of the vehicle 1A is parallel parking. Parallel parking is a mode in which the vehicle 1A is parked so that the vehicle length direction of the vehicle 1A is perpendicular to the aisle facing the parking space. On the display screen 80 shown in Figure 2, images 81A and 81B showing the exit area and images 82A and 82B showing the exit path are shown by dashed lines. When multiple exit areas are detected, identification information that identifies each of the exit areas is displayed on the images 81A and 81B showing the exit area. In the display example shown in Figure 2, the letter "A" is displayed in the image 81A showing the exit area, and the letter "B" is displayed in the image 81B showing the exit area.

Figure 3 shows the display of the display screen 80 when the parking style of the host vehicle 1A is parallel parking. Parallel parking is a style in which the host vehicle 1A is parked so that the other vehicle 1B and the host vehicle 1A are arranged along the vehicle length direction of the host vehicle 1A. The display screen 80 shown in Figure 3 shows an example in which an aisle is formed on both the left and right sides of the host vehicle 1A in the width direction, and images 81A and 81B indicating the exit area are displayed on both the left and right sides of the host vehicle 1A that is parallel parked. Even when the parking style is parallel parking, if multiple exit areas are detected, the letters "A" and "B" that identify the exit area are displayed on the images 81A and 81B indicating the exit area, respectively.

In addition, when multiple output areas as shown in Figures 2 and 3 are detected, icons 83A, 83B corresponding to each of the detected multiple output areas, a confirmation icon 84 to confirm the selection, and a guidance display 85 requesting the selection of an output area are displayed.
Icons 83A and 83B display the same identification information as that displayed in images 81A and 81B showing the output area. For example, icon 83A displays the same character "A" as that displayed in image 81A showing the output area. Also, icon 83B displays the same character "B" as that displayed in image 81B showing the output area.
The display control unit 135 displays the icons 83A and 83B in a selected state selected by the user in a display mode different from the display mode of the icons 83A and 83B in a non-selected state that are not selected. In the display example shown in Fig. 2, the fact that the icon 83A is in a selected state is indicated by hatching with diagonal lines.

Operation information is input to the reception unit 137 from the touch panel 65. When the user selects the image 81A indicating the delivery area, the user touches the icon 83A displaying the letter "A," and then touches the confirmation icon 84. When the confirmation icon 84 is touched, the reception unit 137 determines which of the icons 83A and 83B is in the selected state, and determines which delivery area has been selected.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a display screen 80 displayed on the touch panel 65 when the number of output areas detected by the output area detection unit 134 is one.
As shown in Fig. 4, when one output area is detected, an image 81 showing one output area and an image 82 showing one output route are displayed on the display screen 80. Furthermore, when one output area is detected, a guide display 86 giving guidance on the output direction is displayed on the display screen 80. By displaying the guide display 86 on the display screen 80, the user can recognize that the vehicle can only be output in the output direction indicated by the guide display 86. Fig. 4 shows an example in which the guide display 86 shows guidance to output to the left rear.

The control information generating unit 139 corresponds to the output unit of the present invention. When multiple exit areas are detected, the control information generating unit 139 generates control information that controls the traveling of the vehicle 1A based on the exit route selected by the user. When one exit area is detected, the control information generating unit 139 generates control information that controls the traveling of the vehicle 1A based on the exit route to this exit route. This control information is information for driving the vehicle 1A along the exit route, and includes information for controlling steering, driving, braking, and gear shifting.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the parking assistance device 100A of the first embodiment.
The operation of the parking assistance device 100A of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
When the ignition switch of the vehicle 1A is turned on and started (step S1), the parking assistance device 100A judges whether or not automatic leaving is selected by operating the touch panel 65 (step S2). If automatic leaving is not selected (step S2/NO), the parking assistance device 100A judges whether or not the ignition switch is turned off (step S3). If the ignition switch is not turned off (step S3/NO), the parking assistance device 100A returns to the judgment of step S2. If the ignition switch is turned off (step S3/YES), the parking assistance device 100A ends this processing flow and turns off the power supply of the parking assistance device 100A.

When automatic leaving is selected (step S2/YES), the parking assistance device 100A acquires detection information from the sensor unit 20 (step S4). Step S4 corresponds to the acquisition step of the present invention. The parking assistance device 100A detects the leaving area based on the acquired detection information (step S5). Step S5 corresponds to the detection step of the present invention. When the parking assistance device 100A detects the leaving area, it calculates the leaving route, which is the travel route to the detected leaving area (step S6). Step S6 corresponds to the calculation step of the present invention.

Next, the parking assistance device 100A judges whether the exit area detected in step S5 is on both the left and right sides (step S7). If the exit area is not on both the left and right sides (step S7/NO), the parking assistance device 100A displays the exit area detected in step S5 and the guide display 86 that guides the exit direction on the touch panel 65 (step S8). The parking assistance device 100A may also display the exit area detected in step S5, the exit route calculated in step S6, and the guide display 86 that guides the exit direction on the touch panel 65. The parking assistance device 100A outputs the exit route calculated in step S6 to the vehicle control unit 70 (step S9). The vehicle control unit 70 controls the steering device 71, the drive device 73, the braking device 75, and the transmission device 77 according to the input information on the exit route, thereby starting the exit of the host vehicle 1A (step S14).

In addition, when the parking assistance device 100A determines in step S7 that there are exit areas on both the left and right sides (step S7/YES), it displays images 81A and 81B showing the exit areas on both the left and right sides on the touch panel 65 (step S10). In addition, the parking assistance device 100A may display images 81A and 81B showing the exit areas on both the left and right sides and images 82A and 82B showing the exit routes to these exit areas on the touch panel 65. In addition, the parking assistance device 100A displays a guide display 85 requesting the user to select either the left or right side on the touch panel 65 (step S11). Step S10 corresponds to the display step of the present invention. After that, the parking assistance device 100A determines whether or not an operation to select an exit area has been accepted (step S12). If the parking assistance device 100A has not accepted an operation to select an exit area (step S12/NO), it waits until an operation to select an exit area is accepted. Step S12 corresponds to the reception step of the present invention.

When the parking assistance device 100A receives an operation to select an exit area (step S12/YES), it outputs an exit route corresponding to the selected exit area to the vehicle control unit 70 (step S13). Step S13 corresponds to the output step of the present invention. The vehicle control unit 70 controls the steering device 71, the drive device 73, the braking device 75, and the transmission device 77 according to the input information on the exit route, thereby starting the exit of the host vehicle 1A (step S14).

As described above, the parking assistance device 100A of the first embodiment includes a status acquisition unit 133, an exit area detection unit 134, a route calculation unit 135, a display control unit 136, a reception unit 137, and a control information generation unit 139.
The situation acquisition unit 133 acquires detection information indicating the situation around the vehicle 1A parked in a parking space.
The exit area detection unit 134 detects the exit area that is the exit position of the vehicle 1A based on the detection information acquired by the situation acquisition unit 133.
The route calculation unit 135 calculates the exit route, which is the travel route from the parking space to the exit area.
The display control unit 136 displays the delivery area on the touch panel 65 .
The reception unit 137 receives the selection of the delivery area.
The control information generating unit 139 outputs control information for driving the host vehicle 1A along the leaving route accepted by the accepting unit 137 .
Therefore, if the exit area detected by the exit area detection unit 134 is the direction in which the vehicle 1A is desired to be exited, the vehicle can be exited in the desired direction by selecting the exit area displayed on the touch panel 65.

Furthermore, the display control unit 136 causes the touch panel 65 to display the outgoing route calculated by the route calculation unit 135. The reception unit 137 receives the selection of the outgoing route.
Therefore, the vehicle 1A can be caused to leave the garage along the selected leaving route by selecting the leaving route displayed on the touch panel 65.

[Second embodiment]
A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the in-vehicle device 3B of the second embodiment. Among the components of the in-vehicle device 3B of the second embodiment, the same components as those of the in-vehicle device 3A of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The parking assistance device 100B of the second embodiment stores in the memory 110 information indicating the parking mode when the vehicle is parked in a parking space in a parking lot. Parking modes include, for example, parallel parking, parallel parking, forward parking, and reverse parking. Forward parking is a mode in which the vehicle enters the parking space from the front of the vehicle body and parks. Reverse parking is a mode in which the vehicle enters the parking space from the rear of the vehicle body and parks.

The parking assistance device 100B of the second embodiment includes an information acquisition unit 132 and a selection unit 138 in addition to the configuration of the parking assistance device 100A of the first embodiment described above.

The information acquisition unit 132 controls the wireless communication unit 50 to acquire parking lot information from an access point installed in the parking lot. The parking lot information acquired by the information acquisition unit 132 includes, for example, map data within the parking lot, information on parking spaces where vehicles can be parked, and information on the entrances and exits of the parking lot. The information acquisition unit 132 also reads information indicating the parking mode from the memory 110, and outputs the read information indicating the parking mode to the selection unit 138.

When the following three conditions are met, the selection unit 138 selects one of the multiple exit areas detected by the exit area detection unit 134 based on the parking lot information.
The first condition is that multiple output areas are detected by the output area detection unit 134.
The second condition is that the parking lot information is acquired by the information acquisition unit 132 .
The third condition is that the parking mode of the host vehicle 1A is forward parking or parallel parking.

7 and 8 are diagrams for explaining a method for selecting a delivery area.
The example shown in FIG. 7 shows a case where the exit area A on the right rear of the driver who is seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle 1A and facing forward of the vehicle 1A and the exit area B on the left rear of the driver are detected as the exit areas. Also, it is assumed that the traffic direction of the passage in the parking lot indicated by the parking lot information is from the exit area A to the exit area B, that is, from the right rear to the left rear, as shown in FIG. 7. In this case, the selection unit 138 selects the exit area A as the exit area as shown in FIG. 8. When the parking mode is forward parking, the vehicle 1A is caused to exit from the parking space by backing up and enter the exit area A or B as shown in FIG. When the vehicle 1A moves to the exit area A or B and the vehicle length direction of the vehicle 1A becomes approximately parallel to the passage, the vehicle 1A is caused to run along the traffic direction of the passage. At this time, by selecting the exit area A, the vehicle 1A can be caused to run along the traffic direction of the passage after moving to the exit area A. Therefore, the selection unit 138 selects the output area A as the output area.

In addition, when the traffic direction is not set for the aisles in the parking lot, the selection unit 138 selects the exit area based on the travel distance to the entrance/exit of the parking lot after the vehicle 1A is moved to the exit area. For example, when the travel distance to the entrance/exit when the vehicle 1A is exited to exit area A shown in FIG. 7 is longer than the travel distance to the entrance/exit when the vehicle is exited to exit area B, the selection unit 138 selects exit area B as the exit area.

In Figures 7 and 8, the parking style is described as forward parking, but as shown in Figure 3, when the vehicle 1A is parallel parked and an exit area is detected on both the left and right sides of the vehicle 1A's width, the parking assistance device 100B selects one of the exit areas on the left or right side based on the travel distance to the entrance or exit of the parking lot.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the parking assistance device 100B according to the second embodiment.
The operation of the parking assistance device 100B of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 9. Note that the processes from step S21 to S25 are the same as steps S1 to S5 of the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 5, so the description will be omitted.

When the parking assistance device 100B detects an exit area based on the detection information acquired from the sensor unit 20 (step S25), it judges whether or not there are multiple detected exit areas (step S26). If there is only one detected exit area (step S26/NO), the parking assistance device 100B calculates an exit route to this exit area (step S27) and displays the detected exit area on the touch panel 65 (step S28). The parking assistance device 100B may also display the calculated exit route on the touch panel 65 in addition to the detected exit area. After that, the parking assistance device 100B generates control information for controlling the running of the vehicle 1A based on the calculated exit route, and outputs the generated control information to the vehicle control unit 70 (step S29).

If the parking assistance device 100B detects multiple exit areas in step S25 (step S26/YES), it reads out parking style information from the memory 110. The parking assistance device 100B determines whether the parking style of the vehicle 1A is forward parking or parallel parking (step S30). If the parking style is not forward parking or parallel parking (step S30/NO), i.e., if the parking style is reverse parking, the parking assistance device 100B calculates the exit route to each of the detected multiple exit areas (step S32).

If the parking mode is forward parking or parallel parking (step S30/YES), the parking assistance device 100B determines whether or not parking lot information has been acquired (step S31). If the parking assistance device 100B cannot acquire parking lot information (step S31/NO), it proceeds to the process of step S32 and calculates the exit route to each of the detected multiple exit areas (step S32).

After that, the parking assistance device 100B displays the multiple exit areas detected in step S25 on the touch panel 65 (step S33). The parking assistance device 100B may also display the multiple exit areas detected in step S25 and the exit routes calculated for each of the multiple exit areas in step S32 on the touch panel 65. Furthermore, the parking assistance device 100B displays a guide display 85 on the touch panel 65 requesting the user to select one of the displayed exit areas (step S34). After that, the parking assistance device 100B determines whether or not an operation to select an exit area has been received (step S35). If the parking assistance device 100B has not received an operation to select an exit area (step S35/NO), the parking assistance device 100B waits until an operation to select an exit area is received. Furthermore, when the parking assistance device 100B receives an operation to select an exit area (step S35/YES), it outputs the exit route corresponding to the selected exit area to the vehicle control unit 70 (step S29).

When parking assistance device 100B acquires parking lot information (step S31/YES), it first calculates an exit route to each of the detected multiple exit areas (step S36). Next, parking assistance device 100B acquires traffic direction information and parking lot exit information contained in the parking lot information (step S37). Parking assistance device 100B determines an exit route based on the acquired traffic direction information and parking lot exit information (step S38). For example, if the traffic direction of the aisles in the parking lot is determined, parking assistance device 100B determines an exit route that allows progression along the traffic direction.

When the parking assistance device 100B determines the exit route, it displays the exit area on the touch panel 65 (step S39). The parking assistance device 100B may also display the determined exit route on the touch panel 65 in addition to the exit area. The parking assistance device 100B then outputs the exit route to the vehicle control unit 70 (step S29).

The vehicle control unit 70 controls the steering device 71, the drive device 73, the brake device 75, and the transmission device 77 according to the input information on the exit route. This starts the exit of the vehicle 1A. When the vehicle control unit 70 detects an obstacle based on the detection information of the sensor unit 20 (step S40), it causes the parking assistance device 100B to recalculate the exit route (step S41). The parking assistance device 100B calculates the exit route and outputs the calculated exit route to the vehicle control unit 70 (step S29). This causes the vehicle 1A to start traveling according to the recalculated exit route. Also, if no obstacle is detected by the detection information (step S40), the vehicle control unit 70 determines whether the current position of the vehicle 1A is within the exit area (step S42). If the current position of the vehicle 1A is not within the exit area (step S42/NO), the vehicle control unit 70 returns to the determination of step S40 and detects an obstacle based on the detection information. Furthermore, if the current position of the vehicle 1A is within the leaving area (step S42), the vehicle control unit 70 ends this processing flow.

As described above, the parking assistance device 100B of the second embodiment includes an information acquisition unit 132 and a selection unit 138 in addition to the configuration of the parking assistance device 100A.
The information acquisition unit 132 acquires information regarding the parking style of the vehicle 1A parked in the parking space, and information regarding the traffic direction of the aisles in the parking lot.
When the acquired information regarding the parking style of the vehicle 1A is forward parking and multiple exit areas are detected by the exit area detection unit 134, the selection unit 138 selects one of the multiple exit areas based on the information regarding the traffic direction.
The control information generating unit 139 outputs to the vehicle control unit 70 control information for causing the host vehicle 1A to travel along the leaving route selected by the selecting unit 138 .
Therefore, when the parking mode of the vehicle 1A is forward parking, one of the plurality of exit areas is selected based on the information on the traffic direction. Therefore, after the vehicle 1A is moved to the exit area, it can be driven along the traffic direction of the passage.

In addition, the information acquisition unit 132 acquires information regarding the parking mode of the vehicle 1A parked in the parking space, and information regarding the entrance and exit of the parking space.
When the information regarding the parking mode of the vehicle 1A acquired by the information acquisition unit 132 is parallel parking or forward parking, and multiple exit areas are detected by the exit area detection unit 134, the selection unit 138 selects one of the multiple exit areas based on the information regarding the entrance and exit.
Therefore, when the parking mode of the vehicle 1A is parallel parking or forward parking, one of the plurality of exit areas is selected based on the information about the entrance/exit, so that the vehicle 1A can be moved to the exit area closest to the entrance/exit.

The above-described embodiment is merely an example of one aspect of the present invention, and any modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described second embodiment, the third condition is that the parking style when the vehicle is parked in the parking space is forward parking or parallel parking. However, the third condition may also include other conditions such as diagonal parking or a narrow passageway through which the vehicle 1A is to be exited.

The blocks of the parking assistance devices 100A and 100B shown in Figures 1 and 6 are schematic diagrams in which the components are classified according to the main processing content in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and the components can be further classified into more components according to the processing content. Also, one component can be classified to perform even more processes.

Also, in FIG. 1, the parking assistance device 100A may be configured to include at least one of the position detection unit 10 and the sensor unit 20 as an integrated unit.

When the parking assistance method of the present invention is implemented using a computer, the program executed by the computer can be configured in the form of a recording medium or a transmission medium for transmitting the program. The recording medium can be a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory device. Specific examples include portable or fixed recording media such as a flexible disk, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), DVD, Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc, magneto-optical disk, flash memory, and card-type recording medium. The recording medium may also be a non-volatile storage device such as a ROM or HDD provided in the parking assistance device 100A.

The processing units in the flowcharts shown in Figures 5 and 9 are divided according to the main processing content in order to make the processing of the parking assistance devices 100A and 100B easier to understand, and the present invention is not limited by the manner in which the processing units are divided or the names of the processing units. The processing of the parking assistance devices 100A and 100B may be divided into even more processing units depending on the processing content. Furthermore, the processing of the parking assistance device 100A may be divided so that one processing unit includes even more processes.

1A Vehicle 1B Other vehicle 3A, 3B Vehicle-mounted device 5A, 5B Icon 10 Position detection unit 20 Sensor section 30 Photography section 31 Front camera 32 Rear camera 33 Left side camera 34 Right side camera 40 Sonar unit 50 Wireless communication section 65 Touch panel 70 Vehicle control unit 71 Steering device 73 Drive device 75 Braking device 77 Transmission 100A Parking assistance device 100B Parking assistance device 110 Memory 130 Processor 131 Position acquisition section 132 Information acquisition section 133 Status acquisition section 134 Exit area detection section 135 Route calculation section 137 Reception section 138 Selection section 139 Control information generation section

Claims (2)

A situation acquisition unit that acquires a situation around a vehicle parked in a parking space;
an exit area detection unit that detects an exit area that is a departure position of the vehicle based on the surrounding situation of the vehicle acquired by the situation acquisition unit;
A route calculation unit that calculates an exit route which is a movement route from the parking space to the exit area;
A display control unit that displays the delivery area on a display unit;
A reception unit that receives a selection of the delivery area;
an output unit that outputs control information for causing the vehicle to travel along the leaving route corresponding to the leaving area received by the reception unit;
An information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the parking mode of the vehicle parked in the parking space and information regarding an entrance/exit of the parking space;
a selection unit that, when the information regarding the parking mode of the vehicle acquired by the information acquisition unit is parallel parking or forward parking and a plurality of exit areas are detected by the exit area detection unit, selects, from the plurality of exit areas, the one having the shortest distance based on the distance between the plurality of exit areas and the entrance/exit;
The output unit outputs control information for moving the vehicle to the leaving area selected by the selection unit,
When the information regarding the parking mode of the vehicle acquired by the information acquisition unit is rear-facing parking and a plurality of exit areas are detected by the exit area detection unit, the display control unit displays the plurality of exit areas on the display unit,
The output unit outputs control information for moving the vehicle to the leaving area received by the reception unit.
A parking assistance device comprising: A processor of a parking assistance device mounted on a vehicle,
A situation acquisition step of acquiring a situation around the vehicle parked in the parking space;
a detection step of detecting an exit area that is a departure position of the vehicle based on the surrounding situation of the vehicle acquired in the situation acquisition step;
A calculation step of calculating an exit route which is a moving route from the parking space to the exit area;
A display step of displaying the delivery area on a display unit;
A receiving step of receiving a selection of the delivery area;
an output step of outputting control information for causing the vehicle to travel along the leaving route corresponding to the leaving area received in the receiving step;
An information acquisition step of acquiring information regarding the parking mode of the vehicle parked in the parking space and information regarding an entrance/exit of the parking space;
a selection step of selecting, when the information regarding the parking mode of the vehicle acquired in the information acquisition step is parallel parking or forward parking and a plurality of exit areas are detected in the detection step, one of the plurality of exit areas having a shorter distance based on the distance between the plurality of exit areas and the entrance/exit;
The output step outputs control information for moving the vehicle to the leaving area selected in the selection step,
In the display step, when the information regarding the parking mode of the vehicle acquired in the information acquisition step is rear-facing parking and a plurality of exit areas are detected in the detection step, the display unit is caused to display the plurality of exit areas,
The output step outputs control information for moving the vehicle to the leaving area received in the receiving step.
A parking assistance method comprising:

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