WO2017068700A1 - Parking space detection method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

A parking space detection method whereby a vacant parking space (Me) is detected from a captured image obtained by a camera (1). The detection method: detects a first line for a parking space (PL2) for which vacancy is to be determined and a second line parallel to the first line in parking space (PL2) for which the determination is being made and at a position on the far side further from the camera (1) than the first line; measures the detected lengths of the first line and the second line; and detects the parking space (PL2) for which the determination is being made, as a vacant parking space if the measured length L1 of the second line is at least the length L2 measured for the first line.

Description

Parking space detection method and apparatus

The present invention relates to a parking space detection method and apparatus.

As a parking detection device for detecting an empty car and parking in a parking space, the parking space is imaged by imaging means installed in the parking lot, and whether or not a white line far from the imaging means is detected among the white lines of the parking space Thus, there is known one that detects an empty vehicle and parking in a parking space (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-202596 A

When the vehicle is provided with an imaging means, if the vehicle is parked in the front parking space, even if the vehicle is not parked in the rear parking space, the rear side of the rear parking space There is a problem that the parking state may be erroneously detected by hiding the white line in the parked vehicle on the near side.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a parking space detection method and apparatus that can accurately detect an empty parking space.

According to the present invention, a first frame line of a parking space to be identified as an empty vehicle, and a parallel to the first frame line in the parking space to be identified are positioned farther from the imaging device than the first frame line. The second frame line is detected, the detected length of the first frame line and the second frame line is measured, and the measured length of the second frame line is determined as the first frame line. When the length is equal to or longer than the measured length, the above-mentioned problem is solved by detecting the parking space to be determined as an empty parking space.

According to the present invention, based on the relationship between the lengths of the first and second frame lines juxtaposed in the discrimination target parking space, the empty vehicle in the discrimination target parking space is discriminated. The effect that can be accurately detected.

It is a block block diagram which shows an example of the parking assistance system of this embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control procedure of the parking assistance system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the installation position of the vehicle-mounted camera of this embodiment. It is a 1st figure for showing an example of the parking assistance processing of this embodiment. It is a 2nd figure for showing an example of the parking assistance process of this embodiment. It is a 3rd figure for showing an example of the parking assistance processing of this embodiment. It is a 4th figure for showing an example of the parking assistance processing of this embodiment. It is a graph which shows the relationship between a vehicle speed (V [km / s]) and a gaze point distance (Y [m]). It is a 1st figure for showing an example of the display screen in the parking assistance processing of this embodiment. It is a 2nd figure for showing an example of the display screen in the parking assistance processing of this embodiment. It is a 3rd figure for showing an example of the display screen in the parking assistance processing of this embodiment. It is a 4th figure for showing an example of the display screen in the parking assistance processing of this embodiment. It is a figure for showing an example of the display screen in the parking assistance processing of this embodiment. (A) (B) (C) is a figure which shows the example of the parking pattern to which the parking assistance process of this embodiment is applied. It is a top view which shows the state of the own vehicle which has detected the parking possible space. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of 1st Example of the detection process of the parking possible space which a control apparatus performs. The relationship between the length of the far side frame line and the near side frame line when the judgment target parking space is empty and other vehicles are parked in the parking space next to the judgment target parking space. FIG. The relationship between the length of the frame line on the back side and the frame line on the near side in the situation where the parking space to be identified is in the parking state and other vehicles are parked in the parking space adjacent to the near side of the parking space to be identified FIG. The relationship between the length of the far side border and the length of the near side border in the situation where the judgment target parking space is empty and no other vehicle is parked in the parking space adjacent to the near side of the judgment subject parking space. FIG. The relationship between the length of the far side frame line and the near side frame line in the situation where the discrimination target parking space is in the parking state and no other vehicle is parked in the parking space next to the discrimination target parking space. FIG. In a parallel parking system with an angle, the rear frame line and the near side in the situation where the parking space to be identified is empty and other vehicles are parked in the parking space next to the parking space to be identified It is a figure which shows the relationship of length with the side frame line. In a parking lot with an angled parallel parking system, when the parking space to be discriminated is parked and the other vehicle is parked in the parking space next to the parking space to be discriminated, the back frame and front It is a figure which shows the relationship of length with the side frame line. In the parallel parking system parking lot, when the target parking space is empty and the other vehicle is parked in the parking space next to the target parking space, the back frame and the front frame It is a figure which shows the relationship of the length with a line. In a parallel parking system parking lot, when the parking space to be discriminated is parked and the other vehicle is parked in the parking space next to the parking space to be discriminated, the back frame and the front frame It is a figure which shows the relationship of the length with a line. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of 2nd Example of the detection process of the parking possible space which a control apparatus performs.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a parking support system 1000 having a parking support apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The parking support system 1000 according to the present embodiment supports an operation of moving (parking) the host vehicle to a parking space. The parking assistance system 1000 of this embodiment includes a camera 1a to 1d, an image processing device 2, a distance measuring device 3, a parking assistance device 100, a vehicle controller 30, a drive system 40, a steering angle sensor 50, A vehicle speed sensor 60. The parking assistance device 100 of this embodiment includes a control device 10 and an output device 20. The output device 20 includes a display 21, a speaker 22, and a lamp 23. These components are connected by a CAN (Controller Area Network) or other in-vehicle LAN in order to exchange information with each other.

The control device 10 of the parking assistance apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a ROM 12 that stores a parking assistance program, and an operation circuit that functions as the parking assistance apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment by executing the program stored in the ROM 12. And a RAM 13 that functions as an accessible storage device.

The parking assistance program of the present embodiment is a program that presents a parking space that can be parked on the display 21 and executes a control procedure that supports an operation of parking the host vehicle with the parking space set by the user as the target parking space. . The parking assistance program of the present embodiment is an automatic parking in which the steering, the accelerator and the brake are operated to automatically park, and the operation of any one of the steering, the accelerator and the brake is performed manually, and the remaining is automatically parked in the semi-automatic parking. Is also applicable. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a function of assisting parking by presenting a travel route to the parking space and guiding to the parking space.

The control device 10 of the parking assistance device 100 according to the present embodiment has a function of executing an information acquisition process, a parking space detection process, a recommended parking space detection process, and a display control process. The above-described processes are executed in cooperation with software for realizing the processes and the hardware described above.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of parking support processing executed by the parking support system 1000 according to the present embodiment. The trigger for starting the parking support process is not particularly limited, and the start of the parking support apparatus 100 may be triggered.

In addition, the parking assistance apparatus 100 of this embodiment is provided with the function to move the own vehicle to a parking space automatically. In this processing, in this embodiment, a switch that operates only while it is on, such as a deadman switch, is used. In the parking assistance apparatus 100, the automatic driving of the own vehicle is executed when the deadman switch is pressed, and the automatic driving of the own vehicle is stopped when the pressing of the deadman switch is released.

Specifically, the control device 10 of the parking assist device 100 according to the present embodiment acquires captured images captured by the cameras 1a to 1d attached to a plurality of locations of the host vehicle in step S101. The cameras 1a to 1d capture images of the boundaries of the parking space around the host vehicle and objects existing around the parking space. The cameras 1a to 1d are CCD cameras, infrared cameras, and other imaging devices. The distance measuring device 3 may be provided at the same position as the cameras 1a to 1d or at different positions. As the distance measuring device 3, a radar device such as a millimeter wave radar, a laser radar, an ultrasonic radar, or a sonar can be used. The distance measuring device 3 detects the presence / absence of the object, the position of the object, and the distance to the object based on the received signal of the radar device. The objects correspond to obstacles around the vehicle, pedestrians, other vehicles, and the like. This received signal is used to determine whether the parking space is vacant (whether it is parked). Obstacles may be detected using a motion stereo technique using the cameras 1a to 1d.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of the cameras 1a to 1d mounted on the own vehicle. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the camera 1a is arranged on the front grille of the host vehicle, the camera 1d is arranged near the rear bumper, and the cameras 1b and 1c are arranged below the left and right door mirrors. As the cameras 1a to 1d, cameras having wide-angle lenses with a large viewing angle can be used.

Further, in step S101, the control device 10 acquires distance measurement signals by the distance measurement devices 3 attached to a plurality of locations of the host vehicle.

In step S102, the control device 10 of the parking assistance device 100 causes the image processing device 2 to generate an overhead image. The image processing device 2 generates a bird's-eye view image based on the acquired plurality of captured images. This overhead view image is a view of the surrounding state including the host vehicle and a parking space in which the host vehicle is parked, from a virtual viewpoint P (see FIG. 3) above the host vehicle. The image processing performed by the image processing apparatus 2 is, for example, “Masayasu Suzuki, Keigo Chino, Teruhisa Takano, Development of a bird's-eye view system, Preprints of Academic Lecture Meeting of the Automotive Engineers of Japan, 116-07 (2007-10), 17 22. "etc. can be used. An example of the generated overhead image 21a is shown in FIGS. 6A to 6E described later. This figure shows a display example in which an overhead image (top view) 21a around the host vehicle and a monitoring image (normal view) 21b around the host vehicle are displayed simultaneously.

Returning to FIG. 2, in step S103, a parking space Me is detected. The parking space Me is a parking space where the host vehicle can park. The control device 10 detects the parking space Me based on the captured images of the cameras 1a to 1d and / or the ranging signal of the ranging device 3. In the above description, the parking space Me is detected from an image acquired by a vehicle-mounted camera. However, the parking space Me is not necessarily limited thereto, and information may be acquired from an external server to identify the parking space Me. Good.

Hereinafter, a method for detecting the parking space Me will be described. The control device 10 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling in an area including a parking space (hereinafter also referred to as a parking area) based on vehicle speed, position information of the navigation system, and the like. For example, when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is equal to or lower than a predetermined vehicle speed threshold and the state continues for a certain time or longer, the control device 10 determines that the host vehicle is traveling in the parking area. Or the control apparatus 10 determines with the own vehicle driving | running | working a parking area by specifying the parking space etc. of a highway from the positional information on a navigation system, for example. Moreover, in this embodiment, you may make it determine whether it is a parking space by communication with the exterior of a vehicle, what is called road-to-vehicle communication, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

When it is determined that the host vehicle is traveling in the parking area, the control device 10 detects a frame line based on the overhead image generated by the image processing device 2. A frame line is a boundary line that divides a frame (region) of a parking space. The control device 10 performs edge detection on the captured image. In the edge detection, the control device 10 detects a pixel row in which the luminance difference between adjacent pixels is greater than or equal to a predetermined value from the overhead image. Then, when the length of the detected pixel row is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the control device 10 detects a line whose edge is defined by the pixel row as a frame line. Further, the control device 10 detects whether there is a line having a higher possibility of a frame line than the detected frame line around the portion detected as the frame line. For example, when a line having a larger luminance difference is newly detected, the newly detected line is detected as a frame line candidate having a high possibility of a frame line. In the present embodiment, the color of the frame line is white. However, the color of the frame is not limited thereto, and may be other colors such as red.

The ROM 12 of the control device 10 stores parking frame pattern information in advance. The parking frame pattern includes a parallel parking type parking frame pattern as shown in FIG. 7A to be described later, a parallel parking type parking frame pattern as shown in FIG. The pattern of the parking frame of an angled parallel parking system as shown to 7 (C) etc. is also included.

When the frame line candidate detected from the overhead image satisfies the following three conditions, the control device 10 detects the detected frame line candidate as a frame line, and determines the space defined by the frame line as a parking space. Detect as. The first condition is that an interval between another frame line candidate or a detected frame line is included in a predetermined threshold range (for example, an actual distance of 2 to 2.5 [m]). The second condition is that a relative angle with another frame line candidate or a detected frame line is included in a predetermined threshold range (for example, −10 ° to + 10 °). The third condition is that a length equal to or greater than a preset first line length distance threshold (for example, a length corresponding to an actual distance of 15 [m]) is extracted from the lines extracted as parking frame line candidates. The line it has is not included. In the above description, the white line is detected when the three conditions are satisfied. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any combination may be used, or a case where at least one condition is satisfied may be used.

When the control device 10 specifies a parking space that satisfies the above three conditions, the control device 10 uses the detection data of the distance measuring device 3 to determine whether there is an obstacle in the parking space. Moreover, the control apparatus 10 determines whether it is a parking space which can be parked by automatic driving based on the driving route of automatic driving. For example, a parking space that cannot secure a route for automatic driving, such as a parking space facing a wall, does not correspond to a parking space that can be parked by automatic driving. And the control apparatus 10 sets the parking space in which an obstruction does not exist among the specified parking spaces and can be parked by automatic driving | operation as the parking space Me. As described above, the control device 10 detects the parking space Me. In the above description, the parking space where the parking frame line is detected is detected as the parking available space Me. However, in the present embodiment, the parking space is not limited to this, and a parking space in a predetermined range is detected or the vehicle is parked in the past. As long as a predetermined condition is satisfied, for example, a parking frame line may not be detected, the parking space Me may be detected.

FIG. 4A is a first diagram for illustrating an example of the parking support process of the present embodiment. In FIG. 4A, an arrow represents a travel route when the vehicle is parked by automatic driving. A dotted circle represents the parking available space Me detected at the position P1. In the parking area shown in FIG. 4A, since the obstacle M1 exists in the parking space PR8, the control device 10 does not specify the parking space PR8 as the parking space Me. Further, in the parking space PL8, since the wall W serves as a barrier, it is not possible to secure an automatic driving route (corresponding to the dotted arrow in FIG. 4A), and the parking space PL8 is a parking space suitable for automatic driving. Absent. Therefore, the control device 10 does not specify the parking space PR8 as the parking space Me. Since there are parked vehicles in the parking spaces PR1, PR4, PR6, and PL3, the control device 10 does not identify the parking spaces PR1, PR4, PR6, and PL3 as the parking space Me. The control device 10 identifies the parking spaces PL1, PL2, PL4 to 7, PR2, PR3, PR5, and PR7 as the parking spaces Me.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the position of the traveling vehicle is P1, and the vehicle speed is V1. The control device 10 sets a range including PL2 to PL5 and PR2 to PR5 among the parking spaces included in the captured image at the position P1 of the host vehicle V as a detection range of the parking space Me. Note that the detection range of the parking available space Me while the vehicle is traveling is not limited to the ranges of PL2 to PL5 and PR2 to PR5, and may be, for example, the ranges of PL1 to PL8 and PR1 to PR8. 4A and later-described FIGS. 4B to 4D show the movement of the host vehicle V in time series, and the position of the host vehicle V is in the order of FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D. Move with. Note that the state of the host vehicle V shown in FIG. 4E described later is not included in the time series shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the recommended parking space Mr is detected in step S104. The recommended parking space Mr is a parking space suitable for parking the host vehicle V. The control device 10 detects the recommended parking space Mr according to the traveling state of the host vehicle from the detected plurality of parking spaces Me.

Hereinafter, a method for detecting the recommended parking space Mr will be described. The control device 10 calculates the travel route for parking in the parking space Me for each parking space Me. The calculated travel route is a route from the start position of the automatic driving to the position of the parking space Me. The control apparatus 10 specifies the start position of automatic driving | operation for every parking space Me. The control device 10 sets a travel route for automatic driving with respect to the start position of automatic driving. The driving route for automatic driving is not necessarily limited to one, and the control device 10 sets an appropriate driving route according to the surrounding situation when performing automatic driving. The travel route until the host vehicle moves on the travel route from the start position of the automatic driving and reaches the position of the parking available space Me (parking completion position) becomes the calculation target route.

The travel route differs for each parking space Me according to the number of turnovers, the travel distance, the maximum turning angle, and the like. Therefore, when the vehicle travels automatically along the travel route, the required parking time differs for each parking space Me. For example, the shorter the number of turnovers, the shorter the travel route distance, or the smaller the maximum turning angle, the shorter the required parking time. As shown in FIG. 4A, when parking in the parking spaces PL6 and PL7 is assumed, the distance from the vicinity of the parking space PL7 to the wall W is larger than the distance from the vicinity of the parking space PL6 to the wall W. short. Therefore, the number of turn-backs when parking in the parking space PL7 is larger than the number of turn-backs when parking in the parking space PL6, and the parking time of the parking space PL7 is more than the parking time of the parking space PL6. become longer.

Next, the control device 10 calculates the gaze distance based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle V. The gaze point distance corresponds to the distance from the position of the host vehicle V to the position where the driver of the host vehicle V is staring. The higher the vehicle speed, the farther the driver of the vehicle V looks. Therefore, the higher the vehicle speed, the longer the gazing point distance. The gazing point distance is the length of a straight line toward the front of the host vehicle V. The line corresponding to the gazing point distance is not necessarily a straight line, and may be a curved line. When the gaze point distance is defined by a curve, the curvature of the curve may be associated with the steering angle.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the vehicle speed (V [km / s]) and the gaze point distance (Y [m]). The solid line indicates the characteristics when the vehicle speed increases, and the dotted line indicates the characteristics when the vehicle speed decreases. As shown in FIG. 5, when the vehicle speed is Va or less, the gazing point distance is Ya. The gazing point distance changes at Ya until the vehicle speed changes from Va to Vc. When the vehicle speed increases from the state of Vc, the gazing point distance increases in proportion to the vehicle speed when the vehicle speed is in the range of Vc to Vd. When the vehicle speed is Vd or higher, the gaze point distance changes at Yb. On the other hand, when the vehicle speed decreases from the Vd state, the gazing point distance changes at Yb until the vehicle speed changes from Vd to Vb. When the vehicle speed is in the range of Va to Vb, the gazing point distance decreases in proportion to the decrease in the vehicle speed. That is, the characteristic indicating the relationship between the vehicle Va and the gaze point distance is a hysteresis characteristic between the increasing direction and decreasing direction of the vehicle speed Va.

The ROM 12 of the control device 10 stores a relationship between the vehicle speed and the gaze point distance as a map. When acquiring the vehicle speed information from the vehicle speed sensor 60, the control device 10 calculates a gaze point distance corresponding to the vehicle speed while referring to the map.

FIG. 4B is a second diagram for illustrating an example of the parking support process of the present embodiment. In FIG. 4B, the position of the traveling vehicle is P2, and the vehicle speed is V2. The control device 10 calculates a gaze point distance corresponding to the vehicle speed V2. The control device 10 specifies a position that is distant from the position P2 by the gazing point distance as the gazing point G2.

Next, the control device 10 gives an identification number to the parking space Me near the gazing point G2. For example, the numbers are assigned in the order closer to the gazing point G2. The control device 10 calculates the ease of entering the parking space Me. The index of ease of entering the parking space Me is the travel time for the host vehicle V to park in the parking space Me by automatic driving, and corresponds to the required parking time. The parking required time is a time when the vehicle travels by automatic driving along the travel route calculated for each parking space Me. Therefore, the ease of entering the parking space Me is determined by the travel distance, the number of operations (number of times of turning back), the maximum turning angle, the vehicle speed, and the like. The index of the ease of entering the parking space Me is not limited to the required parking time, and may include factors such as the certainty of parking in automatic driving, for example. The control apparatus 10 calculates the parking required time of the parking space Me for every parking space Me. In the example of FIG. 4B, the control device 10 calculates the required parking time of the parking spaces PL2, PL4, PL5, PR2, PR3, and PR5, respectively.

The control device 10 compares the required parking time of each parking space Me with a predetermined required time threshold. The required time threshold value is a preset value, and is an upper limit value of the required time for parking in automatic driving. When the required parking time of the parking space Me is longer than the required time threshold, the control device 10 does not specify the parking space Me as the recommended parking space Mr.

After identifying the parking available space Me whose parking required time is shorter than the required time threshold, the control device 10 sets, as the recommended parking available space Mr, the parking available space Me closest to the gazing point among the specified parking available spaces Me. To do. In the example of FIG. 4B, since the required parking time of the parking space PL4 is shorter than the required time threshold and the parking space PL4 is located closest to the point of interest, the control device 10 can recommend the parking space PL4. Set as space Mr. In the present embodiment, the parking available space Me having the shortest required parking time may be set as the recommended parking available space.

Returning to FIG. 2, in step S105, the parking space Me and the recommended parking space Mr are presented. The control device 10 displays the set parking available space Me and the set recommended parking available space Mr on the display 21, thereby presenting the parking available space Me and the recommended parking available space Mr to the occupant.

FIG. 6A is a first diagram for illustrating an example of a display screen in the parking support process of the present embodiment. The display screen in FIG. 6A is a display screen when the host vehicle V is traveling at the position P2 in FIG. 4B. The bird's-eye view image (top view) 21a displayed on the left side of the screen of the display 21 includes images (parking space boundaries) showing the parking spaces PL2 to PL5 and PR2 to PR5. In addition, an icon of the host vehicle V indicating the position of the host vehicle V is displayed in the center of the overhead image (top view) 21a. The monitoring image (normal view) can display captured images of different cameras 1a to 1d according to the operation state of the host vehicle V. In the example shown in FIG. 6A, a captured image of the camera 1a disposed on the front grill portion of the host vehicle V is displayed. When the host vehicle V moves backward, a captured image of the camera 1d disposed near the rear bumper may be displayed. The image 21c is a message image.

As shown in FIG. 6A, in the overhead image 21a, a circle indicating the parking space Me is displayed in the parking spaces PL2, PL4, PL5, PR2, PR3, PR5, and a dotted frame indicating the recommended parking space Mr is parked. It is displayed in the space PL4. Moreover, a bird's-eye view image of a part of the car is displayed in the parking spaces PL3 and PR4. The passenger of the host vehicle can confirm the position of the parking space Me and the position of the recommended parking space Mr on the display screen of the display 21. The occupant can confirm from the message included in the image 21c that the vehicle is in the automatic driving mode and that the vehicle is requested to stop in order to perform automatic driving.

Referring back to FIG. 2, it is determined in step S106 whether the target parking space Mo has been input. The target parking space Mo is a parking space where the vehicle is parked by automatic driving, and represents a target location in automatic driving. The target parking space Mo is set based on an operation by the occupant. For example, when the display 21 is a touch panel display, the target parking space Mo is specified by the occupant touching a desired parking space portion, and information on the target parking space Mo is input to the control device 10. .

If the target parking space Mo is input, the control flow proceeds to step S107. On the other hand, when the target parking space Mo is not input, the control flow returns to step S104, and the control flow from step S104 to step S106 is repeatedly executed.

The control flow of the loop part from step S104 to step S106 will be described. In the situation where the host vehicle V is traveling at the position P2 shown in FIG. 4B, when the target parking space Mo is not input, the host vehicle V is traveling, so the position of the gazing point moves forward. .

FIG. 4C is a third diagram for illustrating an example of the parking support process of the present embodiment. When the host vehicle V moves forward, the position of the gazing point moves from G2 to G3. When the position of the gazing point becomes G3, the recommended parking space Mr moves from the parking space PL4 to the parking space PL5.

FIG. 6B is a second diagram for illustrating an example of a display screen in the parking support process of the present embodiment. The display screen in FIG. 6B is a display screen when the host vehicle V is traveling at the position P3 in FIG. 4C. As shown in FIG. 6B, when the host vehicle V is traveling forward, the frame indicating the recommended parking space Mr moves forward according to the movement of the host vehicle V on the display screen of the display 21. Then move to parking space PL5.

Here, a display form of the recommended parking space Mr when the host vehicle V moves while decelerating will be described. As described above, the control device 10 sets the recommended parking space Mr for the parking space Me closest to the point of sight. The gazing point distance changes according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle V.

The characteristics of the gaze distance when the vehicle speed increases and the characteristics of the gaze distance when the vehicle speed decreases are not the hysteresis characteristics as shown in FIG. 5, but the characteristics shown by the solid line graph in FIG. The case will be described. Further, in the example of FIG. 4B, the recommended parking space Mr set at the vehicle speed Vd is defined as a parking space PL5. In such a case, when the vehicle speed is lower than Vd from the state of Vd, the gazing point distance becomes shorter than Yb, so that the recommended parking space Mr moves from the parking space PL5 to PL4. That is, although the host vehicle is running toward the recommended parking space Mr set before deceleration, the frame of the recommended parking space Mr is below the screen (the progress of the host vehicle) on the screen of the display 21. It moves so as to return to the direction opposite to the direction (the negative direction of the y-axis in FIG. 6A). In order to prevent such unnatural movement of the recommended parking space Mr, hysteresis is given to the characteristic of the gaze distance with respect to the vehicle speed.

When the vehicle speed is lower than Vd from the Vd state when the vehicle has a hysteresis characteristic, the gaze point distance Yd is maintained. Therefore, the recommended parking space Mr stays at the position of the parking space PL5 or moves to the parking space PL6 on the vehicle traveling direction side of the position of the parking space PL5. Thereby, the unnatural movement of the recommended parking space Mr can be prevented.

Referring back to FIG. 2, when the host vehicle V stops while the control flow from step S104 to step S106 is repeatedly executed, the display screen of the display 21 becomes a screen as shown in FIG. 6C. FIG. 6C is a third diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in the parking assistance process of the present embodiment. The display screen in FIG. 6C is a display screen when the host vehicle V stops at the position P3 in FIG. 4C.

As shown in the display screen of FIG. 6C, the user can confirm that the selection and input of the target parking space Mo are requested from the message included in the image 21c.

In step S107, the target parking space Mo is set and the target parking space Mo is presented. In the example of FIG. 6C, the recommended parking space Mr is displayed at the position of the parking space PL5. In this state, when the occupant touches the display portion of the recommended parking space Mr, the control device 10 sets the parking space PL5 as the target parking space Mo.

FIG. 4D is a fourth diagram for illustrating an example of the parking support process of the present embodiment. FIG. 6D is a fourth diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in the parking assistance process of the present embodiment. The display screen in FIG. 6D is a display screen when the host vehicle stops at the position P4 in FIG. 4D. When the parking space PL5 is set as the target parking space Mo, the control device 10 presents the target parking space Mo to the occupant by displaying a display screen as shown in FIG. 6D on the display 21. The occupant can confirm from the message included in the image 21c that automatic driving can be started.

2, in step S108, the control device 10 calculates a travel route for moving the host vehicle to the target parking space Mo. As shown in FIG. 4C, the user designates the parking space PL5 presented as the recommended parking space Mr as the target parking space Mo. The user designates this parking space as the target parking space Mo by touching the parking space PL5 displayed on the touch panel display 21. The target parking space Mo is determined by this operation. As shown in FIG. 4D, the host vehicle V moves to a position P4 next to the target parking space PL5 (Mo). This position P4 becomes the automatic parking start position of the host vehicle.

The control device 10 calculates a travel route based on the positional relationship between the stop position P4 of the host vehicle V that starts the parking operation (movement) and the position of the target parking space Mo. Although not particularly limited, the control device 10 calculates, as travel routes, a stop position of the host vehicle V, that is, a curve from the parking assistance start position to the return position P5 and a curve from the return position P5 to the target parking space Mo. To do. The control device 10 calculates travel routes corresponding to each of the parallel parking (A), the parallel parking (B), and the diagonal parking (C) shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the travel route is calculated. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The travel route according to the type of the parking space is stored in a memory (ROM), and the travel route is determined when parking is started. You may make it read from memory. The parking mode (parallel parking, parallel parking, diagonal parking, etc.) may be selected by the user of the host vehicle V.

The control device 10 reads the travel route corresponding to the selected parking mode, and calculates the travel route based on the relationship between the position of the host vehicle V and the position of the target parking space Mo when the automatic parking process is started. When the user presses the deadman switch in the automatic parking mode described above, the control device 10 causes the vehicle controller 30 to execute a process of moving the host vehicle to the target parking space Mo along the calculated travel route.

In step S109, the parking support apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment executes a parking support process or an automatic parking process. The parking assistance apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment controls the operation of the drive system 40 via the vehicle controller 30 so that the host vehicle moves along the travel route.

FIG. 6E is a fifth diagram for illustrating an example of a display screen in the parking support process of the present embodiment. When automatic driving starts, the display screen of the display 21 becomes a screen as shown in FIG. 6E, and the host vehicle V moves forward. At this time, a message is displayed on the image 21c informing that the host vehicle V is moving forward by automatic driving and that the occupant is gazing around the host vehicle V. Hereinafter, automatic driving control of the parking assistance apparatus 100 will be described.

The parking assist device 100 feeds the output value of the steering angle sensor 50 included in the steering device to the driving system 40 of the own vehicle such as an EPS motor so that the movement locus of the own vehicle V matches the calculated travel route. The command signal is calculated and sent to the drive system 40 or the vehicle controller 30 that controls the drive system 40.

The parking support device 100 of this embodiment includes a parking support control unit. The parking assistance control unit acquires shift range information from the AT / CVT control unit, wheel speed information from the ABS control unit, rudder angle information from the rudder angle control unit, engine speed information from the ECM, and the like. Based on these, the parking assist control unit calculates and outputs instruction information related to automatic steering to the EPS control unit, instruction information such as a warning to the meter control unit, and the like. The control device 10 acquires, via the vehicle controller 30, each piece of information acquired by the steering angle sensor 50, the vehicle speed sensor 60, and other sensors included in the vehicle steering device.

The drive system 40 of the present embodiment parks the host vehicle V in the target parking space Mo by driving based on the control command signal acquired from the parking assist device 100. The steering device of the present embodiment is a drive mechanism that moves the host vehicle V in the left-right direction. The EPS motor included in the drive system 40 drives the power steering mechanism included in the steering device based on the control command signal acquired from the parking assist device 100 to control the steering amount, and moves the host vehicle V to the target parking space Mo. Support the operation when you do. In addition, the content and operation | movement technique of parking assistance are not specifically limited, The technique known at the time of application can be applied suitably.

As shown in FIG. 4D, the parking assist device 100 according to the present embodiment targets the parking of the host vehicle V along the travel route calculated based on the movement start position P3 of the host vehicle V and the position of the target parking space Mo. When moving to the space Mo, the accelerator / brake operation is automatically controlled based on the designated control vehicle speed (set vehicle speed), and the steering operation of the steering device is automatically controlled according to the vehicle speed. . That is, at the time of parking assistance according to the present embodiment, the steering operation of the steering device and the accelerator / brake operation are automatically performed. Without boarding the vehicle, it is also possible to perform parking processing by remote control that performs parking by transmitting a setting command for the target parking space Mo, a parking processing start command, a parking interruption command, or the like to the vehicle from the outside.

Of course, it is also possible for the user to operate the accelerator and brake, and to automatically perform only the steering operation. In this case, the parking assistance device 100 controls the drive system 40 based on the preset vehicle speed calculated in advance so that the host vehicle V moves along the travel routes G2 and G3, and the preset steering angle calculated in advance. The vehicle steering device is controlled based on the above.

The above is the basic control content of the parking assistance apparatus 100 of the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, a first example of the parking space (empty parking space) Me detection process of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state of the host vehicle V when the parking space Me is detected. As shown in this figure, when the host vehicle V is moving forward through a traveling path in the vicinity of the parking space PLn (n = integer), the control device 10 detects the parking space Me from the parking space PLn. To do.

The function of executing the detection process of the parking space Me included in the control device 10 includes a function of executing a frame line detection process, a parking space detection process, and an empty / parking determination process. In the frame line detection process, as described above, the frame line is detected based on the overhead image generated by the image processing device 2. Further, in the parking space detection process, the parking space PLn defined by the frame line detected in the frame line detection process is detected.

In the empty vehicle / parking detection process, the detection data of the cameras 1a to 1d is used to detect whether the parking space PL2 for determination of empty vehicle / parking (hereinafter referred to as a parking space for determination) is empty or in a parking state. . Here, for example, when there is a parked vehicle in a parking space PL1 (hereinafter referred to as a parking space next to the front side) adjacent to the front side (the side close to the host vehicle V) of the parking space PL2 to be determined, A situation may occur in which the detection of the parking situation of the parking space PL2 becomes difficult due to the presence of a parked vehicle in the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side. In such a situation, the presence / absence of a parked vehicle in the parking space PL2 to be determined is determined using the method described below.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the determination of the empty vehicle / parking of the detected parking space PL2 to be determined is performed using the method described below.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the first embodiment of the detection process of the parking space Me that is executed by the control device 10. In the present embodiment, first, in step S201, the control device 10 detects a frame line of the parking space PLn. Next, in step S202, the control device 10 detects the parking space PLn based on the detected positions of the plurality of frame lines.

Next, in step S203, the control device 10 determines the length L1 of the frame line on the far side (the side far from the host vehicle V) of the discrimination target parking space PL2 and the near side (the host vehicle) of the discrimination target parking space PL2. The frame length L2 on the side closer to V) is measured. Here, the length L1 of the frame line on the back side and the length L2 of the frame line on the near side are the lengths recognized from the captured image of the camera 1, and are different from the actual length. In the present embodiment, the actual length may be used instead of the length recognized from the captured image.

Next, in step S204, the control device 10 compares the length L1 of the frame line on the back side of the parking space PL2 to be determined with the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be determined. . In step S205, when the length L1 satisfies the condition that the length L1 is equal to or longer than the length L2, the control device 10 determines that the parking space PL2 to be determined is an empty state. On the other hand, in step 206, when the length L1 does not satisfy the condition of the length L2 or more, the control device 10 determines the parking space PL2 to be determined as a parking state.

Here, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the situation where other vehicles are parked in the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side will be examined. As shown in FIG. 10, in this situation, when the parking space PL <b> 2 to be discriminated is an empty state, the length L <b> 1 of the frame line on the back side that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 is the imaging range of the camera 1. It becomes longer than the length L2 of the near-side frame line appearing at. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, in this situation, when the parking space PL <b> 2 to be discriminated is in a parking state, the length L <b> 1 of the back frame line that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 is This is shorter than the length L2 of the near-side frame line that appears in the imaging range.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, the situation where the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side is in an empty state will be examined. As shown in FIG. 12, in this situation, when the parking space PL <b> 2 to be discriminated is in an empty state, the length L <b> 1 of the frame line on the back side that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1, and the imaging range of the camera 1. Is equal to the length L2 of the near-side frame line appearing at. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13, in this situation, when the parking space PL <b> 2 to be discriminated is in a parking state, the length L <b> 1 of the back frame line that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 is This is shorter than the length L2 of the near-side frame line that appears in the imaging range.

In other words, regardless of whether or not there is a parked vehicle in the adjacent parking space PL1, the rear frame that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 when the parking space PL2 to be discriminated is in an empty state. The length L1 of the line is equal to or longer than the length L2 of the near-side frame line that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1. On the other hand, regardless of whether or not there is a parked vehicle in the adjacent parking space PL1, the rear frame that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 when the parking space PL2 to be discriminated is empty. The length L1 of the line is shorter than the length L2 of the near-side frame line that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1.

Further, the case of the angled parallel parking system shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 and the case of the parallel parking system shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 will be examined. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the parallel parking system with an angle (for example, 30 degrees) also has the same result as the parallel parking system. That is, as shown in FIG. 14, in a situation where the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side is in a parking state, if the parking space PL2 to be determined is in an empty state, the determination target that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 is displayed. The length L1 of the frame line on the back side of the parking space PL2 is longer than the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be identified that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 15, in this situation, when the parking space PL2 to be discriminated is in a parking state, the length of the frame line on the back side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 The length L1 is shorter than the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be identified that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1.

Although illustration is omitted, in the case of an angled parallel parking system, when the parking space PL2 adjacent to the front side is in an empty state and the parking space PL2 to be determined is in an empty state, the imaging range of the camera 1 The length L1 of the frame line on the back side of the discrimination target parking space PL2 appearing in FIG. 5 is equal to the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated appearing in the imaging range of the camera 1. On the other hand, in this situation, when the parking space PL2 to be discriminated is in a parking state, the length L1 of the frame line on the back side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 is This is shorter than the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be identified that appears in the imaging range.

That is, in the case of the parallel parking system with an angle, regardless of whether or not there is a parked vehicle in the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side, if the parking space PL2 to be determined is empty, the camera 1 The length L1 of the far-side frame line that appears in the imaging range is equal to or longer than the length L2 of the near-side frame line that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1. On the other hand, regardless of whether or not there is a parked vehicle in the adjacent parking space PL1, the rear frame that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 when the parking space PL2 to be discriminated is empty. The length L1 of the line is shorter than the length L2 of the near-side frame line that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1.

As shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the parallel parking method is the same as the parallel parking method. That is, as shown in FIG. 16, when the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side is in a parking state, and the parking space PL2 to be determined is in an empty state, the determination target appearing in the imaging range of the camera 1 is displayed. The length L1 of the frame line on the back side of the parking space PL2 is longer than the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be identified that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17, in this situation, when the parking space PL2 to be discriminated is in a parking state, the length of the frame line on the back side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 The length L1 is shorter than the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be identified that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1.

Although illustration is omitted, in the case of the parallel parking system, in the situation where the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side is in an empty state, if the parking space PL2 to be determined is in an empty state, it appears in the imaging range of the camera 1. The length L1 of the frame line on the far side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated is equal to the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1. On the other hand, in this situation, when the parking space PL2 to be discriminated is in a parking state, the length L1 of the frame line on the back side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 is This is shorter than the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be identified that appears in the imaging range.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the control device 10 compares the length L1 of the frame line on the back side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated with the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated. When the length L1 satisfies the condition that the length L2 is equal to or longer than the length L2, the determination target parking space PL2 is determined as an empty vehicle state, and when the length L1 is not satisfied, the determination target parking space PL2 is determined as a parking state. Thereby, it is possible to accurately determine the empty vehicle / parking of the parking space PL2 to be determined regardless of whether or not another vehicle is parked in the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the second embodiment of the detection process of the parking space Me that is executed by the control device 10. In addition, about the matter similar to the above-mentioned 1st Example, the repeated description is abbreviate | omitted and the description which was the above-mentioned 1st Example is used.

As shown in this flowchart, in the detection process of the parking space Me of this example, in step S301, the control device 10 determines whether or not there is a parking space PL1 in the parking state among the parking spaces PLn detected in step S202. Determine. If it is determined in step S301 that there is no parking space PL1 in the parked state, in step S302, the parking space PLn detected in step S202 is detected as a parking space Me, and the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S301 that there is a parking space PL1 in the parked state, in step S303, the control device 10 sets the parking space (determination target parking space) PL2 on the back side of the parking space PL1. The length L1 of the frame line on the back side and the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be determined are measured.

Next, in step S304, the control device 10 compares the length L1 of the frame line on the far side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated with the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the parking space PL2 to be discriminated. . In step S305, when the condition that the length L1 is greater than the length L2 is satisfied, the control device 10 determines that the parking space PL2 to be determined is an empty state. On the other hand, in step S306, when the condition that the length L1 is larger than the length L2 is not satisfied, the control device 10 determines the parking space PL2 to be determined as a parking state.

As described above, when the vehicle is parked in the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side, when the parking space PL2 to be discriminated is in an empty state, the frame line on the back side that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 Is longer than the length L2 of the near-side frame line that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 (see FIG. 10). On the other hand, in this situation, when the parking space PL2 to be discriminated is in a parking state, the length L1 of the frame line on the back side that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 is on the near side that appears in the imaging range of the camera 1 Is shorter than the length L2 of the frame line (see FIG. 11).

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in a situation where there is a parked vehicle in the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side, the control device 10 determines the length L1 of the frame line on the far side of the parking space PL2 to be determined and the parking space to be determined. When the length L2 of the frame line on the near side of the space PL2 is compared and the condition that the length L1 is larger than the length L2 is satisfied, the parking space PL2 to be determined is determined to be in an empty state and the condition is satisfied. If there is no parking space, the parking space PL2 to be determined is determined as a parking state. Thereby, even when another vehicle is parked in the parking space PL1 adjacent to the front side, it is possible to accurately determine the empty vehicle / parking of the parking space PL2 to be determined.

The “control device 10” in the above-described embodiment corresponds to an example of the “frame line detection unit”, “measurement unit”, and “parking space detection unit” in the present invention. Further, the “camera 1” in the above-described embodiment corresponds to an example of an “imaging device” in the present invention.

The embodiment described above is described for easy understanding of the present invention, and is not described for limiting the present invention. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above embodiment is intended to include all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, the above-described embodiment has been described on the assumption that the camera provided in the vehicle. However, the present embodiment is not necessarily limited to this, and the present embodiment is not limited to this. It may be based on a camera. In such a case, the parking space information may be acquired from the outside and the parking state of the parking space may be grasped.

1 Camera 10 Control device

Claims (4)

A parking space detection method for detecting an empty parking space from a captured image acquired by an imaging device,
A first frame line of a parking space to be identified as an empty vehicle, and a first frame line that is parallel to the first frame line and located farther from the imaging device than the first frame line in the parking space to be identified. 2 frame line,
Measuring the detected length of the first frame and the second frame;
Parking space detection for detecting the parking space to be determined as an empty parking space when the measured length of the second frame line is equal to or greater than the measured length of the first frame line Method. A parking space detection method for detecting an empty parking space from a captured image acquired by an imaging device,
A first frame line of a parking space to be identified as an empty vehicle, and a first frame line that is parallel to the first frame line and located farther from the imaging device than the first frame line in the parking space to be identified. 2 frame line,
Measuring the detected length of the first frame and the second frame;
There is a parked vehicle in a parking space located next to the discrimination target parking space and closer to the imaging device, and the measured length of the second frame line is measured of the first frame line. A parking space detection method for detecting a parking space to be discriminated as an empty parking space when the length is longer than a predetermined length. A parking space detection device that detects an empty parking space from a captured image acquired by an imaging device,
A first frame line of a parking space to be identified as an empty vehicle, and a first frame line that is parallel to the first frame line and located farther from the imaging device than the first frame line in the parking space to be identified. A frame line detection unit for detecting 2 frame lines;
A measurement unit that measures the length of the first frame line and the second frame line detected by the frame line detection unit;
When the length measured by the measurement unit of the second frame line is equal to or longer than the length measured by the measurement unit of the first frame line, the parking space to be discriminated is set in an empty state. A parking space detection device comprising: a parking space detection unit that detects a parking space. A parking space detection device that detects an empty parking space from a captured image acquired by an imaging device,
A first frame line of a parking space to be identified as an empty vehicle, and a first frame line that is parallel to the first frame line and located farther from the imaging device than the first frame line in the parking space to be identified. A frame line detection unit for detecting 2 frame lines;
A measurement unit that measures the length of the first frame line and the second frame line detected by the frame line detection unit;
There is a parked vehicle in a parking space located next to the discrimination target parking space and closer to the imaging device, and the measured length of the second frame line is measured of the first frame line. A parking space detection device comprising: a parking space detection unit that detects the parking space to be discriminated as an empty parking space when the length is longer than a predetermined length.

Images