WO2022158449A1 - Vehicle parking device and program used for vehicle parking device - Google Patents

Abstract

This vehicle parking device comprises: a detection unit (205) that detects a stopping region (31); a setting unit (215) that sets a virtual parking frame (34) and a planned route (R4, R5, R6, R7) to the virtual parking frame; a first movement control unit (405, 410) that performs correct arrival control; and a second movement control unit (415, 420, 425) that causes a vehicle to move so as to be housed in the stopping region. On the planned route, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the longitudinal direction of the stopping region match, and the positional deviation amount of the virtual parking frame with respect to the stopping region is shorter than the length in the longitudinal direction of the stopping region.　This program used for a vehicle parking device (20) comprises: a detection part that detects a stopping region; a setting part that sets a virtual parking frame and a planned route to the virtual parking frame; a first movement control part that causes a vehicle to move to the virtual parking frame; and a second movement control part that causes the vehicle to move to the stopping region. On the planned route, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the longitudinal direction of the stopping region match, and the positional deviation amount of the virtual parking frame with respect to the stopping region is shorter than the length in the longitudinal direction of the stopping region.

Description

VEHICLE PARKING DEVICE AND PROGRAM USED FOR VEHICLE PARKING DEVICE Cross-references to related applications

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-009008 filed on January 22, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a vehicle parking device and a program used for the vehicle parking device.

Conventionally, there has been known a device that controls a vehicle so that it can be placed on a pallet of a mechanical parking facility. For example, in the mechanical parking equipment described in Patent Document 1, a technique is described in which a mark is set in front of the pallet as a target position in the middle of the vehicle. Specifically, a white-lined frame is drawn in advance as a mark in front of the pallet and at a position that does not affect the movement of the pallet. Then, the vehicle is first controlled to move to the position of the white line frame, and then controlled to move to the pallet by a simple control such as going straight.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-051116

According to the study of the inventor of the present application, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the white line frame is drawn at a position that does not affect the operation of the pallet, so the front side of the white line frame (that is, with respect to the white line frame) The area on the side opposite to the pallet side) becomes narrower. Since the area in front of the white line frame is likely to be used as a moving route of the vehicle when moving the vehicle aiming at the white line frame, when the area becomes narrow, the vehicle is moved to the white line frame. may not be possible.
In view of the above points, the present disclosure provides a technique for setting the target position of the vehicle in front of the pallet in order to store the vehicle in the pallet of the mechanical parking equipment. The purpose is to ensure a wider range of

According to one aspect of the present disclosure for achieving the above object,
A vehicle parking system for controlling a vehicle to park the vehicle on a pallet of a mechanical parking facility, comprising:
a detection unit that detects a stop area of the vehicle within the pallet;
A virtual parking frame through which the vehicle should pass before the vehicle enters the stop area is set at a position moved from the stop area in a direction opposite to a direction in which the vehicle enters the stop area; A setting unit for setting a planned route to the parking frame;
a first movement control unit that performs correct arrival control for moving the vehicle along the planned route until it reaches the virtual parking frame;
a second movement control unit that moves the vehicle so that the vehicle is contained in the stop area after movement by the first movement control unit;
In the planned route, when the vehicle is separated from the stop area, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area,
In the vehicle parking device, a positional deviation amount of the virtual parking frame with respect to the stop area along the longitudinal direction of the stop area is shorter than the length of the stop area in the longitudinal direction.

Also, from another point of view,
A program for use in a vehicle parking system for controlling a vehicle to park the vehicle on a pallet of a mechanical parking facility, comprising:
a detection unit that detects a stop area of the vehicle within the pallet;
A virtual parking frame through which the vehicle should pass before the vehicle enters the stop area is set at a position moved from the stop area in a direction opposite to a direction in which the vehicle enters the stop area; A setting unit for setting a planned route to the parking frame;
a first movement control unit that moves the vehicle along the planned route until it reaches the virtual parking frame;
a second movement control unit that moves the vehicle so that the vehicle is contained in the stop area after movement by the first movement control unit;
In the planned route, when the vehicle is separated from the stop area, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area,
The program, wherein a positional deviation amount of the virtual parking frame with respect to the stop area along the longitudinal direction of the stop area is shorter than a length of the stop area in the longitudinal direction.

As described above, since the amount of displacement of the virtual parking frame relative to the stop area along the longitudinal direction of the stop area is shorter than the length of the stop area in the longitudinal direction, on the opposite side of the pallet with respect to the virtual parking frame, A wider space in which the vehicle can travel can be secured. As a result, the possibility that the vehicle cannot be moved to the virtual parking frame is reduced.

It should be noted that if the amount of positional deviation is shorter than the length of the stop area in the longitudinal direction, it is often the case that part of the vehicle has already entered the stop area when the vehicle reaches the virtual parking frame. However, in the planned route to the virtual parking frame, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area when the vehicle is separated from the stop area. Therefore, in the control of moving the vehicle along the planned route until it reaches the virtual parking frame, when the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area when or after the vehicle contacts the stop area. It is easier to enter the stopping area than

It should be noted that the reference numerals in parentheses attached to each component etc. indicate an example of the correspondence relationship between the component etc. and the specific component etc. described in the embodiment described later.

1 is a configuration diagram of an in-vehicle system; FIG. It is a flowchart of parking mode management processing. Figure 3 is a perspective view of a pallet; It is a flow chart of special parking processing. It is a flowchart of a virtual parking frame setting process. It is a figure which illustrates the translation distance of the virtual parking frame according to the position of a vehicle. It is a figure which illustrates the translation distance of the virtual parking frame according to the position of a vehicle. It is a figure which shows the example in which a virtual parking frame does not fit in the space which can be driven. It is a figure which shows the example which the virtual parking frame fits in the space which can be driven, but a normal route does not fit within the space which can be driven. It is a figure which shows the example which a virtual parking frame fits in a space which can be driven, and a normal route fits within a space which can be driven. It is a figure which illustrates the positional relationship between an attitude|position fixed position and a virtual parking frame. It is a figure which illustrates the positional relationship between an attitude|position fixed position and a virtual parking frame. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between an attitude determination position and a regular stopping area of the pallet; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between an attitude determination position and a regular stopping area of the pallet; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the normal route is switched back four times; 4 is a flowchart of parking control;

An embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic parking system 1 according to this embodiment is mounted on a vehicle and has a function of automatically parking the vehicle in a parking lot. In particular, the automatic parking system 1 has the function of automatically parking the vehicle on the pallet of the mechanical parking equipment. By "automatically" is meant without a human operating the vehicle.

The automatic parking system 1 has a notification device 10, a surrounding camera 11, a sound wave sensor 12, a millimeter wave sensor 13, a laser sensor 14, and an operation switch 15. Further, the automatic parking system 1 has a throttle actuator 16 , a steering actuator 17 , a brake actuator 18 , a transmission actuator 19 and a parking ECU 20 .

The notification device 10 is a device for notifying the occupants inside the vehicle and the user outside the vehicle of information under the control of the parking ECU 20 . As a notification method, either one or both of the notification by sound and the notification by video may be used. The notification device 10 is provided with a speaker when performing notification by voice. Informing by video, the informing device 10 is provided with a display.

The peripheral camera 11 is a device that captures the surroundings of the vehicle and outputs the image of the captured image to the parking ECU 20 .

The sound wave sensor 12 is a device that transmits ultrasonic waves around the vehicle and receives reflected waves that are reflected by obstacles around the vehicle. The sound wave sensor 12 generates information indicating the relative position of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle based on the time difference between the timing at which the transmitted ultrasonic wave is transmitted and the timing at which the reflected wave is received, and outputs the information to the parking ECU 20. .

The millimeter wave sensor 13 is a device that transmits millimeter waves around the vehicle and receives reflected waves that are the millimeter waves reflected by obstacles around the vehicle. Based on the transmitted millimeter wave and its reflected wave, the millimeter wave sensor 13 generates information indicating the relative position and relative speed of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle by a method such as the FMCW method, and outputs the information to the parking ECU 20. do. FMCW is an abbreviation for Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave.

The laser sensor 14 is a device that emits laser light around the vehicle and receives reflected light that is scattered by obstacles around the vehicle. The laser sensor 14 generates information indicating the relative position and relative speed of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle by a method such as the ToF method based on the emitted laser light and its reflected light, and outputs the information to the parking ECU 20. . Tof is an abbreviation for Time of Flight. That is, the laser sensor 14 is a sensor used for Lidar. Lidar is an abbreviation for Light detection and ranging.

The surrounding camera 11, sound wave sensor 12, millimeter wave sensor 13, and laser sensor 14 are all surrounding sensors for monitoring the surroundings of the vehicle.

The operation switch 15 is a device that can be operated by a vehicle occupant or a person in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the operation content is output from the operation switch 15 to the parking ECU 20 . Transmission of operation contents from the operation switch 15 to the parking ECU 20 may be performed by a wired method or a wireless method.

The throttle actuator 16 is a device that adjusts the output amount of a driving device (for example, an internal combustion engine, an electric motor) that outputs driving force for running the vehicle, and is controlled by the parking ECU 20 . The throttle actuator 16 is, for example, an electric motor that adjusts the flow rate of air supplied to the internal combustion engine.

The steering actuator 17 is an actuator that controls the steering device of the vehicle, such as an electric motor. The brake actuator 18 is an actuator that drives a device that generates braking force for the vehicle, such as an electric motor. The transmission actuator 19 is an actuator, such as an electric motor, that switches the shift position of the vehicle (for example, forward, reverse, neutral) by driving the transmission of the vehicle.

The throttle actuator 16, the steering actuator 17, the brake actuator 18, and the transmission actuator 19 are all drive actuators that drive devices for driving the vehicle.

The parking ECU 20 is a microcomputer equipped with an arithmetic circuit, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and the like. An arithmetic circuit executes a program recorded in a non-volatile memory and uses the volatile memory as a work area during execution to realize various processes. The processing to be realized includes obstacle recognition processing 21, parking mode management processing 22, normal parking processing 23, special parking processing 24, and the like. Both volatile and non-volatile memory are non-transitional tangible storage media. The parking ECU 20 corresponds to a vehicle parking device.

In these processes, the parking ECU 20 acquires signals from the notification device 10, peripheral camera 11, sound wave sensor 12, millimeter wave sensor 13, laser sensor 14, and operation switch 15 as necessary. In these processes, the parking ECU 20 controls the throttle actuator 16, the steering actuator 17, and the brake actuator 18 to move the vehicle.

The parking ECU 20 may be configured as a circuit having a dedicated circuit configuration for executing the above process. Alternatively, the parking ECU 20 may be configured as a circuit having a PLD in which a circuit configuration for executing the above process is programmed. PLD is an abbreviation for Programmable Logic Device.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. The automatic parking system 1 operates when the main switch of the vehicle is turned on. When the main switch is turned on, the electric power necessary for driving the vehicle can be supplied to the vehicle, and when it is turned off, the electric power necessary for driving the vehicle cannot be supplied to the vehicle. . The main switch corresponds to the ignition switch in the case of a vehicle having only an internal combustion engine as the driving device described above.

The obstacle recognition process 21 is a process of repeatedly detecting relative positions and relative moving speeds of obstacles around the vehicle that hinder vehicle travel. In the obstacle recognition process 21, the parking ECU 20 determines the position of the obstacle relative to the vehicle based on the information output from the peripheral camera 11, the sound wave sensor 12, the millimeter wave sensor 13, and the laser sensor 14 to the parking ECU 20 as described above. and relative movement speed. For example, from images around the vehicle repeatedly acquired from the peripheral camera 11, image recognition processing is used to detect the relative position and relative movement speed of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle.

The parking mode management process 22 is a process of selecting one of the normal parking mode and the special parking mode as the parking mode of the vehicle according to the situation. FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the parking mode management process 22. As shown in FIG.

The special parking mode is a mode in which the vehicle is parked on the pallet of the mechanical parking equipment. A mechanical parking facility includes a plurality of pallets and a moving mechanism for moving the plurality of pallets. Each of the plurality of pallets is a member on which one vehicle is placed. When a vehicle enters the parking facility, the vehicle itself runs (i.e. autonomously) instead of receiving force from the outside of the vehicle. Fits within the arranged pallet. The moving mechanism moves the pallet together with the vehicle into the vehicle storage space when the vehicle is placed on the pallet placed at the entrance.

Normal parking mode is a mode in which a vehicle is parked in one of a plurality of parking spaces in a normal parking lot without mechanical parking equipment, i.e., a parking lot provided with one or more fixed parking spaces that do not move. is. As an ordinary parking lot, for example, there is a parking lot in which a plurality of parking spaces are arranged vertically and horizontally on a flat land. A parking space is defined as an area partitioned by partition lines or the like so that only one vehicle can be parked in the parking lot.

In the scene of parking in a parking space in a normal parking lot, there are many cases where there are no obstacles around the target parking space, such as other vehicles not being parked in the parking spaces adjacent to the target parking space. In addition, even if there are obstacles around the target parking space, such as another vehicle parked in a parking space adjacent to the target parking space, or a pillar near the target parking space, The width of the space is often set sufficiently larger than the width of the vehicle.

On the other hand, in mechanical parking equipment, as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 3, on both ends of the pallet 30 in the width direction, standing objects 32 and 33 are provided vertically upward while extending in a direction orthogonal to the width direction (that is, in the vertical direction). These standing objects 32 and 33 correspond to guide members. A rectangular stop area 31 is arranged between the uprights 32,33.

Since the guide member becomes an obstacle to the movement of the vehicle, the vehicle must move within the regular stop area 31 of the pallet 30 while avoiding hitting the guide member. Thus, the guide member guides the vehicle to stop within the pallet 30 . The guide member also protects the vehicle from deviating from the pallet 30 when the vehicle is entering the pallet 30 and when the vehicle is stopped within the pallet 30 . In many cases, the width of the range in which the vehicle is allowed to pass by the guide member when the vehicle enters the pallet 30, that is, the width of the stop area 31 is narrower than the width of a parking space in a normal parking lot. ing. Therefore, in order to automatically put the vehicle in the pallet 30 without relying on human driving operation, it is necessary to control the vehicle with higher positional accuracy than to automatically put the vehicle in the parking space of the normal parking lot. .

The parking ECU 20 may start the parking mode management process 22 when the user performs a predetermined parking start operation on the operation switch 15 . Alternatively, the parking ECU 20 may start the parking mode management process 22 when the vehicle stops and the shift position is reversed. The user who operates the operation switch 15 may be inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle.

In the parking mode management process 22, the parking ECU 20 first acquires information necessary for selecting the parking mode in step 110, as shown in FIG. Subsequently, at step 120, it is determined whether there is a mechanical parking facility or a normal parking lot around the vehicle.

For example, the parking ECU 20 acquires an image of the surroundings of the vehicle from the surrounding camera 11 at step 110, and then determines whether there is a mechanical parking facility or a normal parking lot around the vehicle at step 120 based on the image. may be determined. In this case, in step 120, the determination is performed by performing image recognition processing on the acquired image.

In this image recognition process, the parking ECU 20 may use a trained neural network that receives an image of the surroundings of the vehicle as an input and outputs a value indicating whether the parking facility is a mechanical parking facility or a normal parking lot. Alternatively, in this image recognition processing, the parking ECU 20 calculates the width of the planned parking space from the image around the vehicle, and if the space is within a predetermined range set in advance based on the width of the vehicle, it is a mechanical parking facility. Otherwise, it may be determined that the parking lot is a normal parking lot. Alternatively, in this image recognition processing, the parking ECU 20 determines that the parking equipment is a mechanical parking equipment if the image around the vehicle contains a special pattern indicating that it is a mechanical parking equipment, and otherwise determines that the parking equipment is a mechanical parking equipment. You may determine with it being a normal parking lot. The dedicated pattern may be, for example, a graphic mark indicating the mechanical parking equipment, a graphic mark indicating the direction of parking, or a two-dimensional bar code indicating the parking scene or the direction of parking, or otherwise. It's okay.

Alternatively, the parking ECU 20 may wait in step 110 until an operation indicating that there is a mechanical parking facility around the vehicle or an operation indicating that there is a normal parking lot around the vehicle is performed. In this case, when one of these operations is performed, proceed to step 120, where there is either mechanical parking facilities or a normal parking lot around the vehicle based on the operation performed. determine whether

When the parking ECU 20 determines in step 120 that there are mechanical parking facilities around the vehicle, the parking ECU 20 proceeds to step 130, starts the special parking process 24, and then ends the parking mode management process 22. Thereby, parking ECU20 transfers to special parking mode. In this case, the execution of the special parking process 24 is continued even after the parking mode management process 22 ends.

Also, when the parking ECU 20 determines in step 120 that there is a normal parking lot around the vehicle, the process proceeds to step 140, and after starting the normal parking process 23, the parking mode management process 22 ends. Thereby, parking ECU20 transfers to normal parking mode. In this case, the normal parking process 23 continues even after the parking mode management process 22 ends.

Here, the normal parking process 23 started at step 140 will be described. The normal parking process 23 is a process for stopping the vehicle in a parking space of a normal parking lot in the normal parking mode.

In the normal parking process 23, the parking ECU 20 identifies the parking space to be parked as a rectangular area on the road surface. The parking space to be parked may be specified, for example, by the following method. First, an image of the vehicle periphery acquired from the peripheral camera 11 is subjected to processing for recognizing the positions of the marking lines drawn on the ground for demarcating the parking space. Locate parking spaces. Then, among those parking spaces, vacant parking spaces are specified based on the recognition result of the obstacle recognition processing 21 . Then, among the vacant parking spaces, the one closest to the vehicle is set as the parking space to be parked. Alternatively, the identification of the parking space to be parked may be performed by other methods.

Furthermore, in the normal parking process 23, the parking ECU 20 calculates the moving route of the vehicle with the target position within the parking space. The moving route calculated here is a normal route.

Furthermore, in the normal parking process 23, the parking ECU 20 moves the vehicle along the calculated normal route, and stops the vehicle in the parking space. In such vehicle travel control, the throttle actuator 16, the steering actuator 17, the brake actuator 18, and the transmission actuator 19 are controlled as necessary.

Next, the special parking process 24 activated at step 130 will be described. The special parking process 24 is a process for storing the vehicle in the pallet 30 of the mechanical parking equipment and stopping it in the special parking mode.

In the special parking process 24, the parking ECU 20 performs steps 205, 210, 215, and 220 shown in FIG. First, in step 205, a rectangular stop area 31 in the pallet 30 is detected based on information acquired from the surrounding sensors. That is, by detecting the relative positions of the uprights 32 and 33 at both ends of the pallet 30 in the width direction with respect to the vehicle, the relative position and relative orientation of the stop area 31 therebetween with respect to the vehicle can be determined. To detect.

For example, the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 are extracted based on the image around the vehicle acquired from the peripheral camera 11, and the relative position of the stop area 31 is calculated based on the position and shape of the extracted areas. and relative orientation may be specified. Alternatively, the relative positions and relative orientations of the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 may be specified based on information obtained from peripheral sensors other than the peripheral camera 11 . Alternatively, the relative position and relative orientation of the stop area 31 may be specified based on the user's operation of the operation switch 15 .

The length in the width direction of the stop area 31 detected at this time corresponds to the space between the standing objects 32 and 33 along the width direction. Further, the vertical length of the stop area 31 detected at this time corresponds to the distance along the vertical direction from one vertical end of the standing objects 32 and 33 to the other vertical end. . Therefore, one end in the width direction of the stop region 31 detected is the end of the standing object 32 on the side of the stop region 31 , and the other end is the end of the standing object 33 on the side of the stop region 31 . In addition, the position of the one-side end of the stop region 31 and the position of the one-side ends of the standing structures 32 and 33 in the vertical direction of the stop region 31 match. In addition, the position of the other end of the stop region 31 and the positions of the other ends of the standing objects 32 and 33 in the longitudinal direction of the stop region 31 match.

Then, in step 210, the drivable space is identified. Specifically, the range of the space around the vehicle recognized by the obstacle recognition processing 21 that does not come into contact with obstacles is specified, and this range is specified as a travelable space in which the vehicle can travel. The drivable space includes a space in front of the stop area 31 in the longitudinal direction (that is, the space where the vehicle is located) that does not come into contact with obstacles, and the stop area 31 of the pallet 30 .

Subsequently, in step 215, virtual parking frame setting processing is executed. In the virtual parking frame setting process, the process shown in FIG. 5 is executed. That is, in the virtual parking frame setting process, first, in step 305, the virtual parking frame 34 is set as illustrated in FIG. As the stop area 31, the one specified in step 205 immediately before is used. The virtual parking frame 34 is a virtual frame that indicates a provisional target position before the vehicle enters the stop area 31 .

The virtual parking frame 34 is only virtually set in the processing within the parking ECU 20, and is not actually drawn on the road surface. However, when the vehicle is equipped with an in-vehicle display, the virtual parking frame 34 is displayed on the in-vehicle display in a state in which the virtual parking frame 34 is superimposed on the image of the surroundings of the vehicle captured by the peripheral camera 11. may

The virtual parking frame 34 is set at a position moved from the normal stop area 31 of the pallet 30 in the direction opposite to the direction of entry into the stop area 31 . The entry direction into the stop area 31 is the direction in which the vehicle can move when entering from the outside of the stop area 31 . More specifically, the virtual parking frame 34 is set at a position translated from the regular stop area 31 of the pallet 30 forward of the pallet 30 along the road surface. The front side of the pallet 30 refers to the direction along the vertical direction (longitudinal direction) of the pallet 30 from the back side of the pallet 30 toward the entrance side (ie, the space side where the vehicle is located). The parking ECU 20 sets the shape of the virtual parking frame 34 to be the same as the shape of the stop area 31 . The vertical direction (that is, the longitudinal direction) of the stop area 31 and the vertical direction of the virtual parking frame 34 match. That is, in the parking ECU 20 , the direction of the side where the vehicle is present at that point in the vertical direction of the stop area 31 is adopted as the direction opposite to the direction of entry into the stop area 31 .

The parking ECU 20 determines the parallel movement distance of the virtual parking frame 34 from the stop area 31 based on the position and attitude of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 of the pallet 30, based on a predetermined table (not shown). This parallel movement distance corresponds to the amount of displacement of the virtual parking frame 34 with respect to the stop area 31 along the vertical direction of the stop area 31 .

This table is recorded in the non-volatile storage medium of the parking ECU 20. In addition, this table is given as an output when the relative lateral position of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31, the relative vertical position of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31, and the relative orientation of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 are input. It is configured such that the above-mentioned parallel movement distance is determined.

The characteristics of this table will be described below using FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. As shown in FIG. 6 , the relative lateral position X of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 is the deviation amount of the center position of the vehicle from the center position of the stop area 31 in the width direction of the stop area 31 . The relative vertical position Y of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 is the deviation amount of the center position of the vehicle from the center position of the stop area 31 in the vertical direction (that is, the longitudinal direction) of the stop area 31 . In addition, the relative orientation θ of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 is such that the front of the vehicle along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is It is an angle to form.

In the example of FIG. 6, the combination of the lateral position X, the longitudinal position Y, and the direction θ is such that the vehicle can be accommodated within the stop area 31 when reversing along a virtual route R1 that only turns with a constant turning radius from the current position. It's becoming Further, in the example of FIG. 7, the lateral position X, longitudinal position Y, and orientation θ are set so that the vehicle can be accommodated within the stop area 31 when reversing along a virtual route R2 that only turns with a constant turning radius from the current position. It's a combination.

The turning radius of the virtual route R1 is larger than the turning radius of the virtual route R2. In this case, the translation distance P1 that is output when the combination of the horizontal position X, the vertical position Y, and the orientation θ in FIG. It is shorter than the translation distance P2 that is output when . That is, the table is set such that the smaller the turning radius, the longer the translation distance.

In many cases, the smaller the turning radius, the lower the accuracy of vehicle positioning by travel control. Therefore, the smaller the turning radius, the longer the translation distance, and the lower the positional accuracy required for parking, thereby making it possible to appropriately set the translation distance.

Also, depending on the combination of the horizontal position X, the vertical position Y, and the orientation θ, there are cases in which the vehicle does not fit within the stop area 31 even if the vehicle moves backward from the current position only with a certain turning radius. In that case, by combining one partial path that only retreats with a certain turning radius and then one partial path that only retreats with a different constant turning radius, the pallet 30 starts from the current position and fits into the pallet 30. Multiple virtual paths may be envisioned. The table is set such that the smaller the representative turning radius in this composite virtual path, the longer the translation distance.

Note that the assumed composite virtual path may include not two but three or more partial paths that only retreat with different constant turning radii, or may include partial paths that only retreat straight. You can

Here, a representative turning radius is a value based on multiple turning radii in all partial paths that turn with a constant turning radius and retreat. For example, a typical turning radius may be the turning radius at which the vehicle begins to enter the pallet 30 from outside the pallet 30 . Alternatively, the representative turning radius may be the turning radius of the first partial path in which the vehicle turns with a constant turning radius and backs up. Alternatively, the representative turning radius may be the turning radius of the last partial path in which the vehicle turns with a constant turning radius and backs up.

Alternatively, the representative turning radius may be the average value of multiple turning radii in all partial paths that turn and retreat with a constant turning radius. Alternatively, the representative turning radius may be a weighted average value of a plurality of turning radii weighted by the traveling distance of each partial route in all partial routes that turn and retreat with a constant turning radius.

In this way, the parking ECU 20 sets a longer translation distance based on the above-mentioned X, Y, and θ as the turning radius of the virtual path along which the vehicle is located within the stop area 31 from the current position is smaller. This virtual route is, of course, a virtual route determined independently of the positions of obstacles around the vehicle.

The table used in step 305 is preset to have the above characteristics. For example, when the automatic parking system 1 is developed, the designer actually measures the positional accuracy of the route during parking control in advance, and determines specific values in the table in view of the measured accuracy. Then, a table having the determined values is recorded in the non-volatile memory of the parking ECU 20 before the parking ECU 20 is shipped (for example, at the time of manufacture). Therefore, the values in the table are determined in advance according to the vehicle's running ability and movement controllability. For example, for a vehicle that can increase the number of times of switching in the normal route and set a large turning radius for the final turning partial route, or perform precise vehicle speed control to improve the positional accuracy, shorten the parallel movement distance. Can be set.

In the table, the translation distance is limited to a value longer than zero and shorter than the longitudinal length of the vehicle. Since the pallet 30 is made so that the entire vehicle can be accommodated in its stopping area 31, the longitudinal length of the stopping area 31 is equal to or longer than the longitudinal length of the vehicle. Therefore, the translational distance is less than the longitudinal length of stop area 31 . Therefore, in step 305 , the virtual parking frame 34 overlaps the stop area 31 on the rear side and does not overlap the stop area 31 on the remaining front side.

At step 310 following step 305 , the parking ECU 20 determines whether the virtual parking frame 34 set at step 305 is within the travelable space identified at step 210 .

The fact that the virtual parking frame 34 does not fit within the drivable space means that the vehicle cannot fit in the virtual parking frame 34 . As such an example, as shown in FIG. 8, the calculated virtual parking frame 34 may not enter the travelable space 35 and may even include the wall 36 as an obstacle.

If the parking ECU 20 performs parking control with the virtual parking frame 34 as the target while the virtual parking frame 34 is not within the drivable space, the result is that parking is not possible when the vehicle is actually traveling for parking. , causing inconvenience to the user of the vehicle. In order to avoid such inconvenience, when the parking ECU 20 determines that the virtual parking frame 34 is not within the travelable space, the process proceeds to step 315, and causes the notification device 10 to notify that parking is not possible. Furthermore, the special parking process 24 is terminated. This allows the user to know that parking is not possible before actually performing parking control.

When the parking ECU 20 determines that the virtual parking frame 34 is within the travelable space, the process proceeds to step 320 . In step 320, a normal route from the current position and attitude of the vehicle to the virtual parking frame 34 is calculated. Specifically, the normal route is calculated such that the vehicle starts traveling from the current position and attitude of the vehicle, finally fits in the virtual parking frame 34, and stays in the drivable space from beginning to end. The normal route calculated in step 320 corresponds to the planned route along which the vehicle is scheduled to travel in parking control, which will be described later.

The algorithm for calculating the normal route here is the same as the algorithm for calculating the normal route in the normal parking process 23. That is, if the same conditions are input, the same normal route is calculated in the normal parking process 23 and step 320 . That is, it is as follows. When the vehicle is at a certain relative position and relative orientation with respect to the certain shape of the parking space in the certain shape of the drivable space of the normal parking lot, the normal parking process 23 is executed and the normal route is is calculated. Let this be the first normal route. In addition, in the drivable space having the same shape as the upper parking space, when the vehicle is in the same relative position and the same relative direction as the above with respect to the stop area 31 having the same shape as the upper parking space, the step 320 is executed. Let this be the second normal route. In this case, the first normal route and the second normal route match.

Depending on the shape of the drivable space, the relative position of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31, and the relative orientation of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31, it may not be possible to calculate a normal route that fits within the drivable space. In such a case, the success flag indicating that the normal route has been calculated is set off. This success flag is set in the volatile memory of the parking ECU 20 and turned on by the parking ECU 20 each time the process shifts from step 310 to step 320 .

Subsequently, in step 325, it is determined whether or not a normal route that fits in the travelable space could be calculated in step 320. Specifically, it is determined whether the success flag described above is off or on. The fact that a normal route that fits in the drivable space cannot be calculated means that, as shown in FIG. There is no.

If the parking ECU 20 performs parking control according to a route that does not fit within the drivable space, it will result in the vehicle being unable to park during actual parking, causing inconvenience to the vehicle user. In order to avoid such inconvenience, if the success flag is off, the parking ECU 20 proceeds to step 315, causes the notification device 10 to notify that parking is not possible, and terminates the special parking process 24. This allows the user to know that parking is not possible before actually performing parking control.

If the success flag is ON, that is, if a normal route that fits within the travelable space has been calculated, proceed to step 330 . The process proceeds to step 330 in this way when the virtual parking frame 34 fits within the travelable space 35 and the normal route R4 fits within the travelable space 35, as illustrated in FIG.

At step 330 , it is determined whether or not the fixed attitude position of the normal route is ahead of the stop area 31 on the pallet 30 . The front means the front in the vertical direction of the pallet 30 .

Here, I will explain the posture determination position. In the normal route calculated by the parking ECU 20 in the normal parking process 23 and step 320, at a certain timing, the rear end of the vehicle begins to face the stop area 31 and the virtual parking frame 34, and then the vehicle moves straight back. It fits in the virtual parking frame 34 . The rear end of the vehicle facing the stop area 31 and the virtual parking frame 34 means that the vertical direction of the vehicle (that is, the longitudinal direction) coincides with the vertical direction of the stop area 31 and the vertical direction of the virtual parking frame 34 . Say. The position of the rear end of the vehicle at this facing timing is the attitude determination position. Since the normal route is a route at the center position of the vehicle, the parking ECU 20 reads out information on the total length of the vehicle recorded in advance in the non-volatile memory of the parking ECU 20, and based on the normal route, uniquely determines the determined attitude position. can be determined to Note that the state in which the vertical direction of the stop area 31 and the vertical direction of the virtual parking frame 34 match is not limited to a state in which they are strictly matched, but also a deviation to the extent that the vehicle can easily enter the stop area 31 afterward. Including the state where there is

As shown in FIG. 11, the determined attitude position Z may be at the front end of the virtual parking frame 34. In this case, the normal route R5 is a route along which the vehicle enters from the front end of the virtual parking frame 34 parallel to the vertical direction of the virtual parking frame 34 . Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 12, even if the determined attitude position Z is between the front end and the rear end of the virtual parking frame 34 in the vertical direction (that is, the rear end side of the front end and the front end side of the rear end). good. In this case, the normal route R6 is a route along which the vehicle enters from the front end of the virtual parking frame 34 obliquely with respect to the vertical direction of the virtual parking frame 34 . The positional relationship between the determined attitude position Z and the virtual parking frame 34 varies depending on the normal route calculation algorithm and the like.

As shown in FIG. 11 , when the determined attitude position Z matches the front end of the virtual parking frame 34 , the determined attitude position Z is always ahead of the stop area 31 . This is because the virtual parking frame 34 is translated forward with respect to the stop area 31 .

However, in the example shown in FIG. 12 where the fixed posture position Z is between the front end and the rear end of the virtual parking frame 34, even if the fixed posture position Z is in front of the virtual parking frame 34 as shown in FIG. It is also conceivable that the determined posture position Z is within the virtual parking frame 34 as shown in FIG.

On a route where the determined attitude position Z is ahead of the virtual parking frame 34, the vehicle starts to move straight back before the vehicle starts to enter the stop area 31 of the pallet 30 from outside. Therefore, in this case, travel control for keeping the vehicle within the stop area 31 is easy.

On the other hand, if the attitude determination position Z is inside the virtual parking frame 34 or coincides with the front end of the virtual parking frame 34, when the vehicle starts to enter from outside the stop area 31 of the pallet 30, the vehicle is still It is oblique to the longitudinal direction of the stop area 31 . That is, when the vehicle starts to enter from outside the stopping area 31 of the pallet 30, the vehicle must turn and back up. Therefore, in this case, the positional accuracy required for travel control for keeping the vehicle within the stop area 31 is increased.

In order to deal with this, the parking ECU 20 determines that the determined attitude position Z is not in front of the stop area 31 , that is, determines that the determined attitude position Z is within the stop area 31 or at the front end of the stop area 31 . If so, go to step 335 .

At step 335, the virtual parking frame 34 is moved forward. That is, the translation distance is increased by a predetermined amount. The predetermined amount may be a predetermined fixed amount (for example, 1 cm or 10 cm), or may be set longer as the length of the detected stopping area 31 in the vertical direction increases. For example, it may be 1/20 or 1/10 of the length of the stop area 31 in the vertical direction. Following step 335 , return to step 310 .

In this way, the parking ECU 20 repeats the process of step 335 for moving the virtual parking frame 34 forward until the virtual parking frame 34 and the normal route are set so that the determined attitude position is ahead of the pallet 30. If it is determined in step 310 that the virtual parking frame 34 after being moved forward is not within the travelable space even in this repetition, then in step 315 it is notified that parking is not possible as described above. , the special parking process 24 ends. If it is determined in step 325 that the normal route that fits within the travelable space cannot be calculated based on the virtual parking frame 34 after being moved forward in this repetition, parking is not possible in step 315 as described above. Then, the special parking process 24 is terminated.

If it is determined in step 330 that the determined attitude position is ahead of the stop area 31, the parking ECU 20 proceeds to step 340.

Through the processing of steps 330 and 335, the virtual parking frame 34 and the normal route are set so that the determined attitude position Z is positioned forward of the front end of the stop area 31, as shown in FIG. That is, the virtual parking frame 34 and the normal route are set so that the vertical direction of the vehicle and the vertical direction of the stop area 31 are aligned when the vehicle is away from the stop area 31 .

In step 340, the parking ECU 20 determines whether or not the clearance of the normal route in the vertical direction of the pallet 30 is equal to or greater than the reference amount in the travelable space. Specifically, the parking ECU 20 calculates an allowance distance as an amount corresponding to the allowance in the vertical direction of the pallet 30 on the normal route, and calculates whether or not the calculated allowance distance is equal to or greater than the reference amount. For example, the margin distance of the normal route may be the translational distance when the normal route is translated forward of the pallet 30 until the normal route contacts the boundary of the travelable space.

Alternatively, the parallel movement distance when the virtual parking frame 34 is translated forward until the normal route contacts the boundary of the drivable space may be used as the clearance distance of the normal route. In this case, the parking ECU 20 moves the virtual parking frame 34 slightly forward in parallel and each time calculates a normal route with the virtual parking frame 34 as the target. continue until it touches Then, the total distance by which the virtual parking frame 34 is moved in parallel to calculate the margin distance at or immediately before the normal route contacts the boundary of the travelable space is defined as the margin distance. The normal route calculation algorithm in this case is the same as in step 320 .

Note that the parallel movement of the virtual parking frame 34 for calculating the marginal distance is temporary, and the parking ECU 20 changes the position of the virtual parking frame 34 to the position immediately before step 340 after the calculation of the marginal distance is completed. back to That is, the movement of the virtual parking frame 34 in step 340 is not a substantial movement.

Here, the reference amount to be compared with the margin distance may be a fixed value (for example, 30 cm, 50 cm), or may be set longer as the vertical length of the detected stop area 31 increases. For example, it may be 1/5 or 1/10 of the length of the stop area 31 in the vertical direction.

If the margin distance is equal to or greater than the reference amount, proceed to step 345. If it is less than the reference amount, the virtual frame setting process ends and the process proceeds to step 220 of the special parking process 24 . In the latter case, the position of the virtual parking frame 34 is fixed at the position immediately before step 340 .

In step 345, the virtual parking frame 34 is additionally translated forward from the current position. This additional translation distance is defined as a range greater than zero and less than or equal to the margin distance calculated in step 340 . However, the upper limit of the additional translation distance is set so that the sum of the additional translation distance and the translation distance calculated in step 305 is less than the length of the stop area 31 in the vertical direction. That is, the upper limit of the additional parallel movement distance is set so that the stop area 31 and the virtual parking frame 34 partially overlap each other.

The parallel movement distance calculated in step 305 is the range in which the vehicle can be stopped in the stop area 31 without colliding with the obstacles such as the standing objects 32 and 33 with that positional accuracy in view of the positional accuracy of the route of the vehicle during parking control. It is set so that the parallel movement distance is as short as possible. However, if there is room in the drivable space as described above, the translation distance can be increased to ensure higher safety. Step 345 is a process that implements this idea.

Here, we will explain how to calculate the additional translation distance. For example, the parking ECU 20 may calculate the additional parallel movement distance in proportion to the margin distance so that the additional parallel movement distance increases as the margin distance increases. For example, the additional translation distance may be 0.5 times the allowance distance, may be 0.8 times the allowance distance, or may be the same as the allowance distance.

Alternatively, for example, the parking ECU 20 may determine an additional parallel movement distance according to the state of the normal route. That is, additional parallel movement of the virtual parking frame 34 based on the number of times the vehicle turns back on the normal route and the time expected to take to move from the current position to the stop area 31 (that is, the expected time to complete parking) You can adjust the distance.

In this case, the parking ECU 20 performs a process of slightly moving the virtual parking frame 34 forward in parallel and calculating a normal route with the virtual parking frame 34 as the target each time. Continue until exceeded. Then, the additional parallel movement distance just before the route cost exceeds the upper limit value is set as the fixed value. The normal route calculation algorithm in this case is the same as in step 320 . Of course, at this time as well, the upper limit of the additional parallel movement distance is determined so that the state where the stop area 31 and the virtual parking frame 34 partially overlap is maintained.

Here, the route cost is a positive value that increases as the number of vehicle turns on the normal route increases, and increases as the estimated time increases. Since it is often the case that the space in which the vehicle can travel is not so large, in many cases, the number of times of turnover and the expected time increase as the distance of parallel movement of the virtual parking frame 34 from the stop area 31 increases.

It should be noted that turning back refers to traveling in which forward and reverse are alternated in order to change the direction or position of the vehicle in the width direction, and the left and right of the steering are reversed between continuous forward and reverse. Either the forward movement or the backward movement may come first. Also, the number of times of steering is calculated as the number of times of switching between forward and backward. For example, the normal route R7 as shown in FIG. 15 has four turns. If the route cost exceeds the upper limit when the number of turnovers exceeds three, the parallel movement distance in FIG. 15 is prohibited. If the route cost is less than the upper limit even if the number of turnaround times is four, the parallel movement distance in FIG. 15 is allowed.

Also, the estimated time may be set to a value that increases as the sum increases, based on the sum of the distance of the normal route and the straight distance from the center of the virtual parking frame 34 to the center of the stop area 31 . Alternatively, if the normal route calculated in the normal parking process 23 and step 320 includes the traveling speed at each point on the normal route, the estimated time may be calculated using the traveling speed as well.

In this example, the route cost depends on both the number of turnaround times and the estimated time. However, the route cost may depend only on the former or the latter. may

By the processing of steps 340 and 345, the parking ECU 20 sets the translation distance longer as the space in which the vehicle can travel is wider on the front side of the pallet 30 (that is, on the vehicle side). More specifically, the longer the length of the travelable space in the vertical direction of the stop area 31 on the front side, the longer the translation distance is set. By doing so, it is possible to calculate an appropriate parallel displacement distance according to the size of the space in which the vehicle can travel.

When the route cost exceeds the upper limit, the parking ECU 20 uses the notification device 10 to notify the user of the shape of the normal route and the estimated time by video or audio. It may be queried whether to allow additional translation distances. In this case, when the user responds to the inquiry using the operation switch 15, the parking ECU 20 may increase the upper limit of the route cost by a predetermined amount if the response is to permit. Then, in the case of a reply to the effect that it is not permitted, the additional parallel movement distance at the point immediately before the route cost exceeds the current upper limit value may be used as the fixed value. In this way, the parking ECU 20 may notify the user of the shape of the normal route and the estimated time, and ask the user whether to start moving along the normal route.

Following step 345 , in step 350 , the parking ECU 20 calculates the normal route to the virtual parking frame 34 moved forward in step 345 using the same algorithm as in step 320 . At this time, if the normal route cannot be calculated for some reason such as the normal route does not fit in the drivable space, the movement of the virtual parking frame 34 performed in step 345 is canceled, and the virtual parking frame immediately before step 340 is canceled. 34 and the normal route may be determined values. After step 350, the virtual parking frame setting process ends, and the process proceeds to step 220 of the special parking process 24. FIG. The normal route calculated at step 350 also corresponds to the planned route, like the normal route calculated at step 320 .

At step 220 of the special parking process 24, parking control is performed. That is, the vehicle is actually moved and finally stopped within the stop area 31 without the user's driving operation. In this parking control, as shown in FIG. 16, first, in step 405, the parking ECU 20 controls movement along the normal route calculated last in the virtual parking frame setting process in step 215 for a predetermined distance or a predetermined time. conduct. Specifically, by controlling the travel actuator, the vehicle is moved from the current position on the normal route by a predetermined distance or a predetermined time. This normal route is a route for moving the vehicle to the virtual parking frame 34 finally set in the virtual parking frame setting process of step 215 . In the process of step 405, based on the latest position of the obstacle recognized by the obstacle recognition processing 21, if the vehicle hits the obstacle when traveling along the normal route, the normal route is corrected so as not to hit the obstacle. You may

Subsequently, in step 410, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has reached the virtual parking frame 34 based on the information output by the peripheral sensor. For example, it may be determined that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking frame 34 based on the fact that the entire vehicle has entered the virtual parking frame 34 . Alternatively, it may be determined that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking frame 34 based on the fact that only a predetermined percentage of the entire vehicle (eg, 80% or 50% of the entire vehicle) has entered the virtual parking frame 34 . Alternatively, it is determined that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking frame 34 based on the fact that at least part of the vehicle enters the virtual parking frame 34 and the vertical direction of the vehicle matches the vertical direction of the virtual parking frame 34. good too.

If it is determined that the vehicle has not reached the virtual parking frame 34, the process returns to step 405. As a result, the parking ECU 20 continues moving the vehicle along the normal route in step 405 until it determines in step 410 that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking frame 34 . Then, when it is determined in step 410 that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking frame 34 , the movement control along the normal route ends, and the process proceeds to step 415 in order to perform proper arrival control to the pallet 30 .

The processing of steps 405 and 410 allows the vehicle to move along the normal route and reach the virtual parking frame 34 . However, the actual trajectory of the vehicle does not necessarily match the normal route, and may deviate from the normal route. The amount of this deviation increases as the accuracy of vehicle position control decreases.

It should be noted that the movement control along the normal route in steps 405 and 410 often ends with part of the vehicle entering the stop area 31, as described above. The proportion of the portion of the vehicle that is within the stop area 31 increases as the parallel movement distance decreases. Therefore, the shorter the parallel movement distance, the higher the positional accuracy required for movement control along the normal route, and the easier the movement control along the normal route becomes.

Further, when the parking ECU 20 determines that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking frame 34, it may proceed to step 415 after controlling the travel actuator to stop the vehicle in the virtual parking frame 34. In this case, the operation of moving along the normal path and the operation of controlling the arrival on the pallet 30 can be separated in terms of control, so that the hardware or software resources for realizing the control of continuous movement can be saved. can be done.

Alternatively, when it is determined that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking frame 34, the parking ECU 20 proceeds to step 415 and then step 420 to start correct arrival control while continuing to move the vehicle by controlling the travel actuator. good too. In this case, since the correct arrival control is started while the vehicle is moving without stopping in the virtual parking frame 34, the behavior of the vehicle for parking becomes smooth, and the parking time can be shortened.

When the vehicle continues to move from reaching the virtual parking frame 34 to starting correct arrival control, the parking ECU 20 temporarily decelerates the vehicle when passing through the virtual parking frame 34, and then accelerates the vehicle to start correct arrival control. You may Furthermore, when the virtual parking frame 34 is reached, information indicating that the virtual parking frame 34 has been reached may be displayed on the in-vehicle display of the notification device 10 . The display of the information indicating that the virtual parking frame 34 has been reached may be displayed using characters. When the virtual parking frame 34 is displayed on the in-vehicle display from the time of movement control along the normal route, the display of information indicating that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking frame 34 changes the display form of the virtual parking frame 34 ( For example, it may be a change in display color, a change in frame thickness, or a change to blinking display. If the virtual parking frame 34 has been displayed on the in-vehicle display from the time of movement control along the normal route, the parking ECU 20 erases the display of the virtual parking frame 34 when the vehicle reaches the virtual parking frame 34, so that the virtual parking frame 34 is displayed. It may indicate that the parking frame 34 has been reached. Furthermore, the parking ECU 20 may use the speaker of the notification device 10 to notify that the virtual parking frame 34 has been reached by a sound such as a sound effect when the virtual parking frame 34 is reached.

At step 415, the stop area 31 is detected based on the information acquired from the surrounding sensors. That is, by detecting the relative positions of the uprights 32 and 33 at both ends of the pallet 30 in the width direction with respect to the vehicle, the relative position and relative orientation of the stop area 31 therebetween with respect to the vehicle can be determined. To detect. Since the object to be detected in step 415 has already been detected in step 205 of the special parking process 24, the detection here is re-detection.

However, the detection in step 415 may have higher accuracy and a larger processing load than the detection in step 205. This is because the detection result at step 205 is used for movement to the virtual parking frame 34, while the detection result at step 415 is used for movement control from the virtual parking frame 34 to the stop area 31, ie, correct arrival control. because it is used. It should be noted that the high accuracy referred to here specifically means that the positional accuracy of the object to be detected is high.

For example, assume that the parking ECU 20 detects the positions of the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 in step 205 by inputting an image of the surroundings of the vehicle into a certain learned neural network (eg, CNN). Then, in step 415, it is assumed that the positions of the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 are detected by inputting the image around the vehicle to another trained neural network (for example, CNN). In this case, assuming that the former neural network is the first neural network and the latter neural network is the second neural network, the second neural network outputs more than the first neural network. 33. The accuracy of the position of the stop area 31 is high. Higher accuracy of the second neural network than the first neural network is achieved, for example, by having more hidden layers in the second neural network than in the first neural network. good too. Note that CNN is an abbreviation for Convolutional Neural Network.

Further, for example, in step 205, the parking ECU 20 detects the images of the standing objects 32 and 33 using the image around the vehicle by template matching, and based on the detected images, the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 are detected. position may be detected. Then, in step 415, the positions of the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 may be detected by inputting images of the surroundings of the vehicle to a trained neural network. Since the accuracy of position detection using a neural network is often higher than the accuracy of position detection by template matching, in this case, the processing of step 415 achieves higher detection accuracy than the processing of step 205. be.

Also, for example, the parking ECU 20 may detect the positions of the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 based on the image of the surroundings of the vehicle using only the peripheral camera 11 of the peripheral sensors in step 205 . Then, in step 415, the positions of the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 may be detected using the information acquired from the sound wave sensor 12 in addition to the image around the vehicle. As a result, the detection accuracy of the process of step 415 is higher than that of the process of step 205 .

Also, for example, the parking ECU 20 may detect the positions of the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 in steps 205 and 415 using the same algorithm. Even in that case, since the vehicle is closer to the pallet 30 in the scene of step 415 than in the scene of step 205, the detection accuracy of the positions of the standing objects 32, 33 and the stop area 31 is inevitably higher. .

Subsequently, in step 420, the parking ECU 20 controls the vehicle to move within the stop area 31 by a predetermined distance or a predetermined time. That is, the vehicle movement control is performed so that the target position of the vehicle is within the stop area 31 . This control is correct arrival control.

Specifically, by controlling the traveling actuators, the vehicle stops in the stop area while preventing the left front wheel, right front wheel, left rear wheel, and right rear wheel of the vehicle from coming into contact with the standing objects 32 and 33 . Movement control of the vehicle is performed so as to be within 31. At this time, the information on the positions of the front left wheel, front right wheel, rear left wheel, and rear right wheel of the vehicle is recorded in the non-volatile memory of the parking ECU 20 in advance. At this time, the positions of the stop area 31 and the standing objects 32 and 33 are identified using the latest detection results obtained in step 415 .

At this time, if it becomes necessary to shift the position of the vehicle in the width direction, the steering actuator 17 is controlled to move the vehicle forward at a variable steering angle that is slightly shifted from the straight-ahead position, and then to move backward. , come true. The slight steering angle may be, for example, a steering angle that realizes a turning radius five times or more the minimum turning radius, or a steering angle that realizes a turning radius ten times or more the minimum turning radius. good. At this time, the vehicle speed may be adjusted by controlling the throttle actuator 16 and the brake actuator 18 as necessary.

Subsequently, at step 425, it is determined whether or not the entire vehicle is within the stop area 31, based on the information output by the surrounding sensors. If it is determined that it does not fit, the process returns to step 415 . Thereby, the parking ECU 20 repeats detecting the positions of the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 in step 415 and moving the vehicle in step 420 until the vehicle is settled in the stop area 31 . Then, when it is determined in step 420 that the vehicle has settled into the stop area 31, the driving actuator is controlled to stop the vehicle, and the parking control ends. At the same time, the special parking process 24 also ends.

As described above, when the parking ECU 20 detects the stop area 31 in step 205, the distance between the car and the pallet 30 is long, so even if it is difficult to accurately recognize the stop area 31, the virtual parking frame 34 closer to the vehicle is set. can do. Therefore, in steps 405 and 410, the vehicle can be moved to the virtual parking frame 34 with a relatively high degree of accuracy by the same control as in the normal parking process 23. Furthermore, the stopping area 31 can be detected again in step 415 after the vehicle approaches the stopping area 31 as a result of the vehicle reaching the virtual parking frame 34 . This enables more accurate and highly accurate position detection of the stop area 31 .

In addition, since the control in step 420 corrects the position of the vehicle in the width direction, it is possible to create an algorithm for controlling the travel actuators relatively easily, and the positional accuracy of the vehicle control is high. In this way, by adding a simple algorithm to an automatic parking assist system for ordinary parking lots, it becomes possible to deal with mechanical parking equipment that requires control with high positional accuracy. In addition, it is no longer necessary to communicate with the parking facility side as in Patent Document 1. However, as another example, the parking ECU 20 may communicate with the parking facility side.

As described above, on the normal route, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area 31 when the vehicle is away from the stop area 31 of the pallet 30 . Also, the parallel movement distance of the virtual parking frame 34 with respect to the stop area 31 is shorter than the length of the stop area 31 in the vertical direction.

Therefore, on the opposite side of the pallet 30 with respect to the virtual parking frame 34, a wider space in which the vehicle can travel can be secured. As a result, the possibility that the vehicle cannot be moved to the virtual parking frame 34 is reduced.

If the parallel movement distance is shorter than the length of the stop area 31 in the vertical direction, then part of the vehicle is often already inside the stop area 31 when the vehicle reaches the virtual parking frame 34 . However, on the normal route to the virtual parking frame 34 , the vertical direction of the vehicle and the vertical direction of the pallet 30 match when the vehicle is away from the stop area 31 . Therefore, compared to the case where the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area 31 when or after the vehicle contacts the stop area 31 on the normal path, the vehicle travels along the normal path until it reaches the virtual parking frame 34. In movement control, entry into the stop area 31 is easy.

Also, according to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Based on the relative position of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 and the relative direction of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31, the parking ECU 20 determines that the turning radius of the virtual route in which the vehicle stays within the stop area 31 from the current position is The smaller it is, the longer the translation distance is set.

The shorter the parallel movement distance, the wider the space in which the vehicle can travel that can be secured on the opposite side of the pallet 30 with respect to the virtual parking frame 34. higher accuracy. Therefore, the inventor paid attention to the fact that the greater the turning radius of the virtual route, the higher the accuracy of the position of the vehicle by running control. It was conceived that the smaller the size, the longer the translation distance should be set. Accordingly, an appropriate translation distance can be set according to the relative position of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 and the relative orientation of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 .

(2) As in the processing of steps 330 and 335, the parking ECU 20 sets the translation distance longer as the space in which the vehicle can travel on the vehicle side of the pallet 30 is wider. By doing so, it is possible to calculate an appropriate parallel displacement distance according to the size of the space in which the vehicle can travel.

(3) The parking ECU 20 sets the parallel movement distance so that the route cost of the normal route does not exceed the upper limit. Then, the route cost increases as the number of turns on the normal route increases, or as the time expected for the vehicle to reach the stop area 31 increases.

In this way, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the route of the vehicle becomes excessively complicated or that the parking time becomes excessively long. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the user will feel uncomfortable with the movement of the vehicle for parking.

(4) The parking ECU 20 detects the stop area 31 at step 415 with higher positional accuracy than the detection at step 205 . Then, based on the detected result, the vehicle is moved so as to be contained within the stop area 31 .

By doing so, even if it is difficult to accurately recognize the stop area 31 because the distance between the car and the pallet 30 is long at the timing when the parking ECU 20 detects the stop area 31, the vehicle stops after reaching the virtual parking frame 34. The region 31 can be re-detected with high positional accuracy. Then, movement control from the virtual parking frame 34 to the stop area 31 can be performed based on this highly accurate detection result.

In this embodiment, the parking ECU 20 functions as a detection unit by executing step 205, functions as a setting unit by executing step 215, and performs the first movement control by executing steps 405 and 410. functions as a department. The parking ECU 20 also functions as a second movement control section by executing steps 415, 420, and 425. FIG.

(Other embodiments)
Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate. In addition, in the above-described embodiments, the elements constituting the embodiments are not necessarily essential unless explicitly stated as essential or clearly considered essential in principle. In addition, in the above embodiments, when numerical values such as the number, numerical value, amount, range, etc. of the constituent elements of the embodiment are mentioned, when it is explicitly stated that they are essential, and when they are clearly limited to a specific number in principle It is not limited to that particular number, except when In particular, where more than one value is exemplified for a quantity, it is also possible to adopt a value between these values unless otherwise stated or clearly impossible in principle. . In addition, in the above-described embodiments, when referring to the shape, positional relationship, etc., of components, etc., the shape, position, etc. are It is not limited to a relationship or the like. In addition, in the above embodiment, if it is described that the external environment information of the vehicle (for example, the humidity outside the vehicle) is obtained from a sensor, the sensor is discarded and the external environment information is received from a server or cloud outside the vehicle. It is also possible to Alternatively, it is also possible to eliminate the sensor, acquire related information related to the external environment information from a server or cloud outside the vehicle, and estimate the external environment information from the acquired related information. In addition, the present disclosure allows the following modifications of the above-described embodiment and modifications within an equivalent range. It should be noted that the following modifications can be independently selected to be applied or not applied to the above embodiment. That is, any combination of the following modified examples, excluding combinations that are clearly inconsistent, can be applied to the above embodiment.

Also, the controller and techniques described in the present disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied by the computer program. , may be implemented. Alternatively, the controls and techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring the processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control units and techniques described in this disclosure can be implemented by a combination of a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions and a processor configured by one or more hardware logic circuits. It may also be implemented by one or more dedicated computers configured. The computer program may also be stored as computer-executable instructions on a computer-readable non-transitional tangible storage medium.

In the above embodiment, the parking ECU 20 is mounted on the vehicle, but it is not necessarily mounted on the vehicle. good too.

Also, in the above embodiment, the translation distance is a variable value according to various conditions, but the translation distance may be set as a predetermined fixed value.

Also, in the above embodiment, in steps 320 and 350, the normal route calculated by the same algorithm as in the normal parking process 23 is exemplified as an example of the planned route. However, the planned route calculated in steps 320 and 350 may necessarily be calculated with an algorithm different from that of the normal parking process 23 .

Also, in the above embodiment, the virtual parking frame 34 is set at a position moved from the regular stop area 31 of the pallet 30 in the direction opposite to the direction in which the pallet 30 enters the stop area 31 . Then, as the direction opposite to the direction of entry into the stop area 31, the direction of the side on which the vehicle is present at that time in the longitudinal direction of the stop area 31 is adopted. However, the direction of entry into the stop area 31 does not have to be exactly parallel to the longitudinal direction of the stop area 31, and may deviate from the parallel as long as entry into the vehicle is possible. Also in this case, the positional deviation amount of the virtual parking frame 34 with respect to the stop area 31 along the longitudinal direction of the stop area 31 is set shorter than the length of the stop area 31 in the longitudinal direction. The positional deviation amount in this case is the positional deviation amount of the center position of the virtual parking frame 34 with respect to the center position of the stop area 31 .

Also, in the above embodiment, the parking ECU 20 sets the parking frame 34 at a position translated in the direction opposite to the entry direction from the stop area 31, but this movement is not limited to a strict parallel movement.

Also, in the above embodiment, the peripheral camera 11, the sound wave sensor 12, the millimeter wave sensor 13, and the laser sensor 14 are provided as peripheral sensors, but the configuration of the peripheral sensors is not limited to such combinations. For example, the peripheral camera 11 may be provided as a peripheral sensor, and the sound wave sensor 12, millimeter wave sensor 13, and laser sensor 14 may be eliminated.

Claims (8)

1. A vehicle parking device for controlling a vehicle to park the vehicle on a pallet (30) of a mechanical parking facility, comprising:
   a detection unit (205) for detecting a stop area (31) of the vehicle within the pallet;
   setting a virtual parking frame (34) through which the vehicle should pass before the vehicle enters the stop area, at a position moved from the stop area in a direction opposite to an entry direction into the stop area; , a setting unit (215) for setting a scheduled route (R4, R5, R6, R7) to the virtual parking frame;
   a first movement control unit (405, 410) that performs correct arrival control for moving the vehicle along the planned route until it reaches the virtual parking frame;
   a second movement control unit (415, 420, 425) for moving the vehicle so as to fit the vehicle in the stop area after movement by the first movement control unit;
   In the planned route, when the vehicle is separated from the stop area, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area,
   A vehicle parking device, wherein a positional deviation amount of the virtual parking frame with respect to the stop area along the longitudinal direction of the stop area is shorter than a length of the stop area in the longitudinal direction.
2. The setting unit selects a virtual route (R1, R1, 2. The vehicle parking device according to claim 1, wherein the smaller the turning radius in R2), the longer the positional deviation amount is set.
3. The vehicle parking apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the setting unit sets the amount of positional deviation longer as the space in which the vehicle can travel on the vehicle side of the pallet is wider.
4. The setting unit sets the positional deviation amount so that the route cost of the planned route does not exceed an upper limit,
   4. The vehicle parking apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said route cost increases as the number of turns on said scheduled route increases, or as the time expected for movement of said vehicle to said stop area increases. .
5. The second movement control unit detects the stop area with higher positional accuracy than the detection unit, and moves the vehicle based on the detection result so as to fit the vehicle in the stop area. 5. Vehicle parking device according to any one of 4.
6. The first movement control unit stops the vehicle after the vehicle reaches the virtual parking frame,
   6. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said second movement control unit moves said vehicle so as to keep said vehicle within said stop area after said first movement control unit stops said vehicle. vehicle parking device.
7. 6. The second movement control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the vehicle reaches the virtual parking frame by the first movement control unit, the second movement control unit starts the correct arrival control while continuing to move the vehicle. 1. A vehicle parking system according to claim 1.
8. A program for use in a vehicle parking system (20) for controlling a vehicle to park the vehicle on a pallet (30) of a mechanical parking facility, comprising:
   a detection unit (205) for detecting a stop area (31) of the vehicle within the pallet;
   setting a virtual parking frame (34) through which the vehicle should pass before the vehicle enters the stop area, at a position moved from the stop area in a direction opposite to an entry direction into the stop area; , a setting unit (215) for setting a scheduled route (R4, R5, R6, R7) to the virtual parking frame;
   a first movement control unit (405, 410) for moving the vehicle along the planned route until it reaches the virtual parking frame;
   a second movement control unit (415, 420, 425) for moving the vehicle so as to fit the vehicle in the stop area after movement by the first movement control unit;
   In the planned route, when the vehicle is separated from the stop area, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area,
   A program, wherein a positional deviation amount of the virtual parking frame with respect to the stop area along the longitudinal direction of the stop area is shorter than a length of the stop area in the longitudinal direction.

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