JP7347697B2 - Vehicle parking device and program used for vehicle parking device - Google Patents

Description

Cross-reference to related applications

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

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

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, devices have been known that control a vehicle in order to fit the vehicle onto a pallet of a mechanical parking facility. For example, in a mechanical parking facility described in Patent Document 1, a technique is described in which a mark is set in front of a pallet as a midway target position of a vehicle. Specifically, a white line frame as a mark is drawn in advance in front of the pallet at a position that does not affect the operation 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 simple straight-line control or the like.

JP2020-051116A

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 in a position that does not affect the operation of the pallet. (opposite the pallet side) becomes narrower. The area in front of the white line frame is an area that is likely to be used as a moving route for the vehicle when moving the vehicle with the white line frame as a target, so if that area becomes narrower, the vehicle may not be moved to the white line frame. There is a possibility that it will not be possible.
In view of the above points, the present disclosure provides a technique for setting a target position of the vehicle in front of the pallet in order to fit the vehicle onto the pallet of mechanical parking equipment, and a space in which the vehicle can run on the opposite side of the pallet with respect to the target position. The purpose is to secure a wider range of information.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure for achieving the above object,
A vehicle parking device that controls a vehicle to park the vehicle on a pallet of a mechanical parking facility, the vehicle parking device 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 the direction of entry into the stop area, and a setting section for setting a scheduled route to the parking slot;
a first movement control unit that performs correct arrival control to move the vehicle according to the scheduled route until it reaches the virtual parking slot;
a second movement control unit that moves the vehicle so that the vehicle falls within the stop area after the movement by the first movement control unit;
In the planned route, when the vehicle is away from the stop area, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area,
In the vehicle parking device, the amount of positional shift 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 perspective,
A program for use in a vehicle parking device that controls a vehicle to park the vehicle on a pallet of a mechanical parking facility, the program 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 the direction of entry into the stop area, and a setting section for setting a scheduled route to the parking slot;
a first movement control unit that moves the vehicle according to the scheduled route until reaching the virtual parking slot;
a second movement control unit that moves the vehicle so that the vehicle falls within the stop area after the movement by the first movement control unit;
In the planned route, when the vehicle is away from the stop area, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area,
The amount of positional shift of the virtual parking frame with respect to the stop area along the longitudinal direction of the stop area is a program that is shorter than the length of the stop area in the longitudinal direction.

As shown above, since the amount of positional shift 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, on the opposite side of the pallet with respect to the virtual parking frame, It is possible to secure a wider space in which the vehicle can run. In turn, the possibility that the vehicle will not be able to be moved to the virtual parking slot is reduced.

Note that if the amount of positional shift is shorter than the length of the stop area in the longitudinal direction, a part of the vehicle is often already inside the stop area when the vehicle reaches the virtual parking slot. However, in the scheduled route to the virtual parking slot, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the longitudinal direction of the stopping area match when the vehicle is away from the stopping area. Therefore, in the case where the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the longitudinal direction of the stopping area match when the vehicle contacts the stopping area or after that in controlling the vehicle to move along the scheduled route until it reaches the virtual parking slot. It is easier to enter the stop area compared to the above.

Note that the reference numerals in parentheses attached to each component etc. indicate an example of the correspondence between the component etc. and specific components etc. described in the embodiments to be described later.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an in-vehicle system. It is a flowchart of parking mode management processing. It is a perspective view of a pallet. It is a flowchart of special parking processing. It is a flowchart of virtual parking frame setting processing. It is a figure which illustrates the parallel movement distance of a virtual parking frame according to the position of a vehicle. It is a figure which illustrates the parallel movement distance of a virtual parking frame according to the position of a vehicle. It is a figure which shows the example which a virtual parking frame does not fit into a drivable space. It is a diagram showing an example in which the virtual parking frame fits within the drivable space, but the normal route does not fit within the drivable space. It is a figure which shows the example where a virtual parking frame fits into a drivable space, and a normal route fits into a drivable space. It is a figure which illustrates the positional relationship between a posture fixed position and a virtual parking frame. It is a figure which illustrates the positional relationship between a posture fixed position and a virtual parking frame. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a posture fixed position and a regular stopping area of a pallet. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a posture fixed position and a regular stopping area of a pallet. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the number of times the normal route is switched back is four. It is a flowchart of parking control.

An embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic parking system 1 according to the present embodiment is installed in a vehicle and has a function of automatically parking the vehicle in a parking lot. In particular, the automatic parking system 1 has a function of automatically parking a vehicle on a pallet of mechanical parking equipment. "Automatically" means without any human operation of the vehicle.

The automatic parking system 1 includes a notification device 10, a peripheral camera 11, a sound wave sensor 12, a millimeter wave sensor 13, a laser sensor 14, and an operation switch 15. Furthermore, the automatic parking system 1 includes 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 information to an occupant inside the vehicle and a user outside the vehicle under the control of the parking ECU 20. The notification method may be either audio notification or video notification, or both. When performing audio notification, the notification device 10 includes a speaker. When providing video notification, the notification device 10 includes a display.

The surrounding camera 11 is a device that photographs the surroundings of the vehicle and outputs the resulting image to the parking ECU 20.

The sonic sensor 12 is a device that transmits ultrasonic waves around the vehicle and receives reflected waves that are the ultrasonic waves reflected from obstacles around the vehicle. The sonic sensor 12 generates information indicating the relative position of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle based on the time difference between the sending timing of the ultrasonic wave and the receiving timing of the reflected wave, 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 from obstacles around the vehicle. The millimeter wave sensor 13 generates information indicating the relative position and relative speed of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle using a method such as the FMCW method based on the transmitted millimeter wave and its reflected wave, 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 the laser light 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 using a method such as a ToF method based on the transmitted 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.

These peripheral camera 11, sonic sensor 12, millimeter wave sensor 13, and laser sensor 14 are all peripheral 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 around the vehicle, and the operation contents are outputted from the operation switch 15 to the parking ECU 20. The operation contents may be transmitted from the operation switch 15 to the parking ECU 20 by a wired method or a wireless method.

The throttle actuator 16 is a device that adjusts the output amount of a drive device (for example, an internal combustion engine, an electric motor) that outputs driving force for driving 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, and is, for example, an electric motor. The brake actuator 18 is an actuator that drives a device that generates braking force for the vehicle, and is, for example, an electric motor. The transmission actuator 19 is an actuator that switches the shift position (for example, forward, reverse, neutral) of the vehicle by driving the transmission of the vehicle, and is, for example, an electric motor.

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

Parking ECU 20 is a microcomputer equipped with an arithmetic circuit, volatile memory, nonvolatile 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, thereby realizing various processes. These realized processes include an obstacle recognition process 21, a parking mode management process 22, a normal parking process 23, a special parking process 24, and the like. Both volatile memory and non-volatile memory are non-transitory tangible storage media. 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, sonic sensor 12, millimeter wave sensor 13, laser sensor 14, and operation switch 15 as necessary. In addition, in these processes, the parking ECU 20 moves the vehicle by controlling the throttle actuator 16, the steering actuator 17, and the brake actuator 18.

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

The operation of the above configuration will be explained 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 power necessary for driving the vehicle can be supplied to the vehicle, and when it is turned off, the 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 drive device described above.

The obstacle recognition process 21 is a process that repeatedly detects the relative position and relative moving speed of obstacles surrounding the vehicle that are obstacles to the vehicle's travel. In the obstacle recognition process 21, the parking ECU 20 determines the relative position of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle based on the information output to the parking ECU 20 from the peripheral camera 11, the sonic sensor 12, the millimeter wave sensor 13, and the laser sensor 14 as described above. and detect relative movement speed. For example, the relative position and relative movement speed of the obstacle to the vehicle are detected from images of the surroundings of the vehicle repeatedly acquired from the surrounding camera 11 using image recognition processing.

The parking mode management process 22 is a process for selecting one of the normal parking mode and the special parking mode as the parking mode of the vehicle depending on the situation. FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the parking mode management process 22.

The special parking mode is a mode in which the vehicle is parked on a pallet of mechanical parking equipment. The mechanical parking facility includes a plurality of pallets and a movement mechanism that moves the plurality of pallets. Each of the plurality of pallets is a member on which one vehicle is placed. When a vehicle enters a mechanical parking facility, the vehicle does not receive any force from outside the vehicle, but instead moves by itself (that is, autonomously), so that one of the multiple pallets can be placed at the entrance. It fits within the placed pallet. When the vehicle is accommodated on the pallet arranged at the entrance, the moving mechanism moves the pallet together with the vehicle into the vehicle storage space.

Normal parking mode is a mode in which a vehicle is parked in one of multiple parking spaces in a normal parking lot that is not a mechanical parking facility, that is, a parking lot that has one or more fixed parking spaces that do not move. It is. A typical parking lot includes, for example, a parking lot in which a plurality of parking spaces are arranged horizontally and vertically on a flat area. Note that a parking space refers to an area demarcated by a lot line or the like in order to park only one vehicle in a parking lot.

In a scene where a vehicle is parked 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 when no other vehicle is parked in a parking space adjacent to the target parking space. In addition, even if there are obstacles around the target parking space, such as another vehicle parked in the parking space adjacent to the target parking space or a pillar near the target parking space, the target parking space The width of the space is often set to be sufficiently larger than the width of the vehicle.

On the other hand, in mechanical parking equipment, a guide member is often provided in order to accommodate the vehicle in a regular rectangular stopping area 31 within a pallet 30, as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 3, upright objects 32 and 33 are provided at both ends of the pallet 30 in the width direction, extending in a direction perpendicular to the width direction (that is, in the vertical direction) and standing vertically upward. These upright objects 32 and 33 correspond to guide members. A rectangular stopping 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 into the regular stopping area 31 of the pallet 30 while avoiding hitting the guide member. In this way, the guide member guides the vehicle to stop the vehicle within the pallet 30. Further, the guide member 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 guide member allows the vehicle to pass when the vehicle enters the pallet 30, that is, the width of the stopping area 31, is narrower than the width of the parking space in a normal parking lot. ing. Therefore, in order to automatically fit a vehicle into the pallet 30 without human driving operations, it is necessary to control the vehicle with higher positional accuracy than to automatically fit the vehicle into a parking space in a normal parking lot. .

The parking ECU 20 may start the parking mode management process 22 based on the user performing a predetermined parking start operation on the operation switch 15. Alternatively, the parking ECU 20 may start the parking mode management process 22 based on the fact that the vehicle has stopped and the shift position has been changed to reverse. Note that 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, as shown in FIG. 2, first acquires information necessary for selecting a parking mode in step 110. Next, in step 120, it is determined whether there is a mechanical parking facility or a normal parking lot around the host vehicle.

For example, the parking ECU 20 acquires an image of the surroundings of the vehicle from the peripheral camera 11 in step 110, and then determines whether there is a mechanical parking facility or a regular parking lot around the vehicle based on the image in step 120. may be determined. In this case, in step 120, the determination is made 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 inputs an image of the surroundings of the vehicle and outputs a value indicating whether the vehicle is a mechanical parking facility or a normal parking lot. Alternatively, in this image recognition process, 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 preset based on the width of the vehicle, the parking ECU 20 is a mechanical parking facility. Otherwise, it may be determined that the parking lot is a normal parking lot. Alternatively, in this image recognition process, the parking ECU 20 determines that the vehicle is a mechanical parking facility if the image surrounding the vehicle includes a special pattern indicating that it is a mechanical parking facility; It may be determined that the parking lot is a normal parking lot. The dedicated design may be, for example, a graphic mark indicating mechanical parking equipment, a graphic mark indicating the direction of parking, a two-dimensional bar code indicating the parking scene or direction of parking, or anything else. But that's fine.

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, the process proceeds to step 120, where, based on the operation performed, it is determined whether there is a mechanical parking facility or a regular parking area around the vehicle. Determine whether

If the parking ECU 20 determines in step 120 that there is a mechanical parking facility around the own vehicle, the process proceeds to step 130, starts the special parking process 24, and then ends the parking mode management process 22. Thereby, the parking ECU 20 shifts to the special parking mode. In this case, even after the parking mode management process 22 ends, the special parking process 24 continues to be executed.

If the parking ECU 20 determines in step 120 that there is a normal parking lot around the own vehicle, the process proceeds to step 140, starts the normal parking process 23, and then ends the parking mode management process 22. Thereby, the parking ECU 20 shifts to the normal parking mode. In this case, even after the parking mode management process 22 ends, the normal parking process 23 continues to be executed.

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

In the normal parking process 23, the parking ECU 20 specifies the parking space in which the vehicle is 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, the images around the vehicle obtained from the surrounding camera 11 are processed to recognize the positions of the marking lines drawn on the ground to demarcate parking spaces, and based on the results, the Locate parking spaces. Further, vacant parking spaces among these 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 parking space to be parked may be identified using other methods.

Further, in the normal parking process 23, the parking ECU 20 calculates a moving route of the vehicle whose target position is within the parking space. The movement 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 a state where the vehicle fits within the parking space. In such vehicle travel control, the throttle actuator 16, steering actuator 17, brake actuator 18, and transmission actuator 19 are controlled as necessary.

Next, the special parking process 24 activated in step 130 will be explained. The special parking process 24 is a process for parking the vehicle on the pallet 30 of the mechanical parking equipment and stopping the vehicle 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 stopping area 31 within the pallet 30 is detected based on information acquired from peripheral sensors. That is, by detecting the relative positions of the upright structures 32 and 33 at both ends of the pallet 30 in the width direction with respect to the vehicle, the relative position and relative direction of the stop area 31 between them with respect to the vehicle can be determined. To detect.

For example, based on the image around the vehicle acquired from the surrounding camera 11, the standing objects 32, 33 and the stop area 31 are extracted, and the relative position of the stop area 31 is determined based on the position and shape of the extracted area. and the 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 on the operation switch 15.

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

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

Subsequently, in step 215, a virtual parking frame setting process 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. 3 based on the position and orientation of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 of the pallet 30. As the stop area 31, the one specified in the previous step 205 is used. The virtual parking frame 34 is a virtual frame that indicates a temporary target position before the vehicle fits into the stop area 31.

The virtual parking frame 34 is only set virtually in the processing within the parking ECU 20, and is not actually drawn on the road surface. However, if the vehicle is equipped with an in-vehicle display, the virtual parking frame 34 is displayed on the in-vehicle display with the virtual parking frame 34 superimposed on the image of the surroundings of the vehicle taken by the peripheral camera 11. It's okay.

The virtual parking frame 34 is set at a position where the pallet 30 is moved from the regular stopping area 31 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the pallet 30 enters the stopping area 31. The direction of entry into the stop area 31 is a direction in which the vehicle can move when entering the stop area 31 from outside to inside. More specifically, the virtual parking frame 34 is set at a position where the regular stopping area 31 of the pallet 30 is translated in front of the pallet 30 from the stopping area 31 along the road surface. Note that the front of the pallet 30 refers to the direction along the vertical direction (that is, the longitudinal direction) of the pallet 30 from the back side of the pallet 30 toward the entrance side (that is, 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 on the side where the vehicle is present at that time 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 a predetermined table (not shown) based on the position and attitude of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 of the pallet 30. This parallel movement distance corresponds to the amount of positional shift 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 a nonvolatile storage medium of the parking ECU 20. In addition, this table provides an output when the relative horizontal 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 direction of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 are input. The configuration is such that the above-mentioned parallel movement distance is determined.

The characteristics of this table will be explained below using FIGS. 6 and 7. As shown in FIG. 6, the relative lateral position X of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 is the amount of deviation 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. Further, the relative vertical position Y of the vehicle with respect to the stop area 31 is the amount of deviation of the center position of the vehicle with respect to the center position of the stop area 31 in the vertical direction (that is, the longitudinal direction) of the stop area 31. Further, the relative direction 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 the angle formed by

In the example of FIG. 6, the combination of lateral position It has become. In addition, in the example of FIG. 7, the lateral 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 parallel movement distance P1 that is output when the combination of horizontal position X, vertical position Y, and orientation θ in FIG. It is shorter than the parallel movement distance P2 which is the output in the case of . In other words, the table is set so that the smaller the turning radius, the longer the parallel movement distance.

The smaller the turning radius, the lower the accuracy of vehicle positioning through travel control in many cases. Therefore, by increasing the parallel movement distance as the turning radius becomes smaller and lowering the positional accuracy required for parking, it is possible to appropriately set the parallel movement distance.

Further, depending on the combination of the horizontal position In that case, by combining one partial path that only moves backwards with a certain constant turning radius and one partial path that only moves backwards with a different fixed turning radius, the path starts from the current position and fits onto the pallet 30. A complex virtual route may be assumed. Then, the table is set so that the smaller the representative turning radius in this composite virtual route, the longer the parallel movement distance.

Note that the assumed composite virtual route may include not two, but three or more partial routes that only go backwards with different constant turning radii, or may include a partial route that only goes straight backwards. You can stay there.

Here, the typical turning radius is a value based on a plurality of turning radii on all partial paths in which the vehicle turns and retreats with a constant turning radius. For example, the 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 typical turning radius may be the turning radius of the first partial path on which the vehicle turns and retreats with a constant turning radius. Alternatively, the typical turning radius may be the turning radius of the last partial path in which the vehicle turns and retreats with a constant turning radius.

Alternatively, the typical turning radius may be the average value of a plurality of turning radii on all partial paths of turning and retreating with a constant turning radius. Alternatively, the typical turning radius may be a weighted average value of a plurality of turning radii, weighted by the travel distance of each partial path, of all partial paths in which the vehicle turns and retreats with a constant turning radius.

In this way, the parking ECU 20 sets the parallel movement distance to be longer, based on the above-mentioned X, Y, and θ, as the turning radius in the virtual route where the vehicle falls within the stop area 31 from the current position is smaller. Note that this virtual route is, of course, determined independently of the positions of obstacles around the vehicle.

The table used in step 305 is thus set in advance to have the characteristics described above. For example, when developing the automatic parking system 1, the designer actually measures the positional accuracy of the route during parking control in advance, and determines specific values for the table in consideration of the measured accuracy. Then, a table having the determined values is recorded in the nonvolatile memory of the parking ECU 20 before the parking ECU 20 is shipped (for example, at the time of manufacturing). Therefore, the values in the table are determined in advance according to the vehicle's running ability and movement control ability. For example, in a vehicle that can increase the number of changes in the normal route to increase the turning radius of the final partial route, or perform precise vehicle speed control to increase position accuracy, the parallel movement distance may be shortened. Can be set.

Note that in the table, the parallel movement distance is limited to a value longer than zero and shorter than the length of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction. Since the pallet 30 is made so that the entire vehicle can fit within the stop area 31, the length of the stop area 31 in the vertical direction is equal to or longer than the length of the vehicle in the vertical direction. Therefore, the parallel movement distance is shorter than the length of the stop area 31 in the vertical direction. Therefore, in step 305, the rear part of the virtual parking frame 34 overlaps with the stop area 31, and the remaining front part does not overlap with the stop area 31.

In step 310 following step 305, the parking ECU 20 determines whether the virtual parking space 34 set in step 305 falls within the drivable space specified in step 210.

The fact that the virtual parking frame 34 is not within the drivable space means that the vehicle cannot be accommodated in the virtual parking frame 34. As an example of such a case, as shown in FIG. 8, the calculated virtual parking space 34 may not enter the drivable space 35 but may include a wall 36 that is an obstacle.

If the parking ECU 20 performs parking control targeting the virtual parking frame 34 while the virtual parking frame 34 is not within the drivable space, the result will be that parking will not be possible when driving for actual parking. , causing inconvenience to vehicle users. In order to avoid such inconvenience, when the parking ECU 20 determines that the virtual parking slot 34 is not within the drivable 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 ended. 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 drivable space, the process proceeds to step 320. In step 320, a normal route from the current position and posture of the vehicle until it fits into the virtual parking slot 34 is calculated. Specifically, a route is calculated as the normal route, such that the vehicle starts traveling from the current position and posture of the vehicle, ends up in the virtual parking slot 34, and stays within the drivable space from beginning to end. The normal route calculated in step 320 corresponds to a scheduled 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. In other words, if the same conditions are input, the same normal route will be calculated in the normal parking process 23 and step 320. That is, as follows. When a vehicle is in a certain relative position and relative orientation with respect to a certain shape of parking space in a certain shape of drivable space of a normal parking lot, the normal parking process 23 is executed and the normal route is set. Suppose that is calculated. This is designated as the first normal route. In addition, in a driveable space that has the same shape as above the mechanical parking equipment, when the vehicle is in the same relative position and same relative direction as above with respect to the stopping area 31 that has the same shape as the parking space above, the step 320 is executed. This is designated as the second normal route. In this case, the first normal route and the second normal route match.

Note that 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, a normal route that fits within the drivable space may not be calculated. In such a case, the success flag indicating that the normal route has been calculated is set to OFF. This success flag is set in the volatile memory of the parking ECU 20, and is also set on by the parking ECU 20 each time the process moves from step 310 to step 320.

Subsequently, in step 325, it is determined whether or not a normal route that fits within the travelable space has been calculated in step 320. Specifically, it is determined whether the above-mentioned success flag is off or on. The fact that it is not possible to calculate a normal route that fits within the drivable space means that, as shown in FIG. That means no.

If the parking ECU 20 performs parking control according to a route that does not fit within the drivable space, the result is that the vehicle cannot be parked when actually driving for parking, causing inconvenience to the user of the vehicle. In order to avoid such inconvenience, when 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 further ends 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, the process proceeds to step 330. The process proceeds to step 330 in this way when the virtual parking slot 34 fits within the drivable space 35 and the normal route R4 falls within the drivable space 35, as illustrated in FIG.

In step 330, it is determined whether or not the posture fixed position is located in front of the stop area 31 on the pallet 30 on the normal route. The front refers to the front of the pallet 30 in the vertical direction.

Here, the posture determination position will be explained. 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 backwards. It fits into the virtual parking slot 34. The rear end of the vehicle is directly facing the stop area 31 and the virtual parking frame 34, which means that the longitudinal direction (i.e., longitudinal direction) of the vehicle, the longitudinal direction of the stop area 31, and the longitudinal direction of the virtual parking frame 34 match. say. The position of the rear end of the vehicle at this timing of facing directly is the attitude determination position. Since the normal route is a route to the center position of the vehicle, the parking ECU 20 uniquely determines the posture determined position based on the normal route by reading out information on the total length of the vehicle recorded in advance in the nonvolatile memory of the parking ECU 20. can be decided. Note that the state in which the vertical direction of the stopping area 31 and the vertical direction of the virtual parking frame 34 match is not only a state in which they exactly match, but also a state in which there is a deviation to the extent that the vehicle can easily enter the stopping area 31 thereafter. It also includes states where there is.

As shown in FIG. 11, the posture determination position Z may be located at the front end of the virtual parking frame 34. In this case, the normal route R5 is a route in which the vehicle enters parallel to the vertical direction of the virtual parking frame 34 from the front end of the virtual parking frame 34. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 12, the attitude determination position Z may be between the front end and the rear end in the vertical direction of the virtual parking frame 34 (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 in which the vehicle enters diagonally from the front end of the virtual parking frame 34 with respect to the vertical direction of the virtual parking frame 34. The positional relationship between the posture fixed position Z and the virtual parking frame 34 differs depending on the normal route calculation algorithm and the like.

As shown in FIG. 11 , when the posture fixed position Z coincides with the front end of the virtual parking frame 34, the posture fixed position Z is always in front of the stop area 31. This is because the virtual parking frame 34 has been moved forward in parallel with respect to the stop area 31.

However, in an example where the attitude fixed position Z is between the front end and the rear end of the virtual parking frame 34 as shown in FIG. It is also conceivable that the attitude determination position Z is within the virtual parking frame 34 as shown in FIG.

On a route in which the posture determination position Z is located in front of the virtual parking frame 34, the vehicle begins to move straight back before the vehicle starts to enter the stop area 31 of the pallet 30 from outside. Therefore, in this case, traveling control for keeping the vehicle within the stop area 31 is easy.

On the other hand, when the posture 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 the stop area 31 of the pallet 30 from outside, the vehicle still remains It is oblique to the vertical direction of the stop area 31. That is, when the vehicle starts to enter the stopping area 31 of the pallet 30 from outside, the vehicle needs to move backward while turning. Therefore, in this case, the positional accuracy required for travel control to keep the vehicle within the stop area 31 becomes high.

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

In step 335, the virtual parking frame 34 is moved forward. That is, the parallel movement distance is increased by a predetermined amount. The predetermined amount may be a predetermined fixed amount (for example, 1 cm, 10 cm), or may be set to be longer as the length of the detected stop area 31 in the vertical direction becomes longer. 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, the process returns to step 310.

In this way, the parking ECU 20 repeats the process of step 335 of moving the virtual parking frame 34 forward until the virtual parking frame 34 and the normal route are set so that the posture fixed position is located ahead of the pallet 30. Even in this repetition, if it is determined in step 310 that the virtual parking frame 34 after being moved forward is not within the drivable space, it is notified in step 315 that parking is not possible as described above. , the special parking process 24 ends. In addition, in this repetition, if it is determined in step 325 that a normal route that fits within the drivable space cannot be calculated based on the virtual parking frame 34 after moving forward, in step 315 it is determined that parking is not possible as described above. This is notified, and the special parking process 24 is ended.

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

Through the processing in steps 330 and 335, the virtual parking frame 34 and the normal route are set so that the posture determination position Z is located in front of the front end of the stop area 31, as shown in FIG. That is, when the vehicle is away from the stop area 31, the virtual parking frame 34 and the normal route are set so that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle matches the longitudinal direction of the stop area 31.

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

Alternatively, the distance of parallel movement when the virtual parking frame 34 is translated forward until the normal route contacts the boundary of the travelable space may be set as the margin distance of the normal route. In this case, the parking ECU 20 moves the virtual parking frame 34 in parallel forward a little, and each time calculates a normal route that targets the virtual parking frame 34. Continue until it touches. Then, the total distance by which the virtual parking slot 34 is translated in parallel to calculate the margin distance at the time when the normal route contacts the boundary of the travelable space or at the time immediately before that point is defined as the margin distance. The normal route calculation algorithm in this case is the same as step 320.

Note that the parallel movement of the virtual parking frame 34 for calculating the margin distance is temporary, and once the calculation of the margin distance is completed, the parking ECU 20 changes the position of the virtual parking frame 34 to the position immediately before step 340. Return to That is, the movement of the virtual parking slot 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 to be longer as the length of the detected stop area 31 in the vertical direction becomes longer. 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, the process advances to step 345. If it is less than the reference amount, the virtual frame setting process is completed 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 determined to be the position immediately before step 340.

In step 345, the virtual parking frame 34 is additionally translated forward from the current position. This additional parallel movement distance is determined to be longer than zero and less than or equal to the margin distance calculated in step 340. However, the upper limit of the additional parallel movement distance is determined so that the sum of the additional parallel movement distance and the parallel movement 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 determined so that the state in which the stop area 31 and the virtual parking frame 34 partially overlap is maintained.

Considering the positional accuracy of the vehicle route during parking control, the parallel movement distance calculated in step 305 is a range within which the vehicle can stop in the stopping area 31 without hitting obstacles such as the standing objects 32 and 33 with that positional accuracy. The parallel movement distance is set to be as short as possible. However, as mentioned above, if there is enough space in which the vehicle can run, the distance of parallel movement can be increased to ensure higher safety. Step 345 is a process that implements this idea.

Here, a method for calculating the additional parallel movement distance will be explained. For example, the parking ECU 20 may calculate the additional parallel movement distance such that the additional parallel movement distance increases as the allowance distance increases, and more specifically, in proportion to the allowance distance. For example, the additional parallel movement distance may be 0.5 times the margin distance, 0.8 times the margin distance, or the same as the margin distance.

Alternatively, for example, the parking ECU 20 may determine the additional parallel movement distance depending on the state of the normal route. That is, additional parallel movement of the virtual parking slot 34 is performed based on the number of times the vehicle turns around on the normal route and the time expected to travel from the current position to the stopping area 31 (i.e., the expected time required to complete parking). You may adjust the distance.

In this case, the parking ECU 20 performs a process of moving the virtual parking space 34 forward a little in parallel and calculating a normal route targeting the virtual parking space 34 each time when the route cost exceeds a predetermined upper limit value. Continue until you exceed it. Then, the additional parallel movement distance at the time immediately before the route cost exceeds the upper limit value is determined as the final value. The normal route calculation algorithm in this case is the same as step 320. Of course, also at this time, the upper limit of the additional parallel movement distance is determined so as to maintain a state in which the stop area 31 and the virtual parking frame 34 partially overlap.

Here, the route cost is a positive value that increases as the number of times the vehicle turns back on the normal route increases, and increases as the predicted time increases. In many cases, the travelable space is not very wide, so in many cases, the longer the distance of parallel movement of the virtual parking frame 34 from the stop area 31, the longer the number of times the vehicle can be turned back and the expected time.

Note that "turning back" refers to driving in which the vehicle alternately moves forward and backward in order to change its direction or position in the width direction, and also reverses left and right steering in successive forward and backward movements. Note that it does not matter which one comes first, moving forward or moving backward. Moreover, the number of times of switching back 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 turnarounds. If the number of switchbacks exceeds three and the route cost exceeds the upper limit, the parallel movement distance in FIG. 15 is prohibited. If the route cost is less than the upper limit even if the number of switchbacks is four, the parallel movement distance in FIG. 15 is allowed.

Moreover, the above-mentioned expected time may be based on the sum of the distance of the normal route and the straight-line distance from the center of the virtual parking frame 34 to the center of the stop area 31, and may be set to a larger value as the sum becomes larger. Alternatively, if the normal route calculated in the normal parking process 23 and step 320 also includes the travel speed at each point on the normal route, the expected time may be calculated using the travel speed as well.

Note that in this example, the route cost depends on both the number of switchbacks and the expected time, but it may depend only on the former of the number of switchbacks and the predicted time, or it may depend only on the latter. It's okay.

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

If 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 using video or audio, and further informs the user of the estimated time. It may also be queried whether additional translation distances are allowed. In this case, when the user answers the inquiry using the operation switch 15, the parking ECU 20 may increase the upper limit value of the route cost by a predetermined amount if the user answers the inquiry using the operation switch 15. If the answer is not to allow, the additional parallel movement distance at the time immediately before the route cost exceeds the current upper limit may be set as the final value. In this way, the parking ECU 20 may notify the user of the shape of the normal route and the estimated time, and may inquire of the user whether to start moving along the normal route.

In step 350 subsequent to step 345, the parking ECU 20 calculates a normal route to the virtual parking slot 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 not fitting into the drivable space, the movement of the virtual parking space 34 performed in step 345 is canceled and the virtual parking space immediately before step 340 is moved. 34 and the normal route may be determined values. After step 350, the virtual parking space setting process ends and the process proceeds to step 220 of the special parking process 24. The normal route calculated in step 350 also corresponds to the planned route, similar to the normal route calculated in step 320.

In step 220 of the special parking process 24, parking control is performed. That is, the vehicle is actually moved and finally stopped within the stopping 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 last calculated in the virtual parking slot setting process of step 215 for a predetermined distance or a predetermined time. conduct. Specifically, by controlling the travel actuator, the vehicle is moved by a predetermined distance or a predetermined time from the current position on the normal route. This normal route is a route for moving the vehicle to the virtual parking space 34 finally set in the virtual parking space setting process of step 215. In addition, in the process of step 405, based on the position of the latest obstacle recognized by the obstacle recognition process 21, if the vehicle hits an obstacle when traveling on 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 the vehicle has reached the virtual parking slot 34 based on the information output by the surrounding sensor. For example, it may be determined that the vehicle has arrived at the virtual parking space 34 based on the fact that the entire vehicle has entered the virtual parking space 34 . Alternatively, it may be determined that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking slot 34 based on the fact that only a predetermined percentage of the entire vehicle (for example, 80% or 50% of the entire vehicle) has entered the virtual parking slot 34. Alternatively, it is determined that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking space 34 based on at least a portion of the vehicle entering the virtual parking space 34 and the vertical direction of the vehicle matching the vertical direction of the virtual parking space 34. Good too.

If it is determined that the vehicle has not reached the virtual parking slot 34, the process returns to step 405. Thereby, the parking ECU 20 continues to move the vehicle along the normal route in step 405 until it is determined in step 410 that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking slot 34. If it is determined in step 410 that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking slot 34, the movement control along the normal route is ended, and the process proceeds to step 415 to control the vehicle to arrive at the pallet 30 correctly.

Through the processing in steps 405 and 410, the vehicle can move along the normal route and reach the virtual parking slot 34. However, the actual movement 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.

Note that in the movement control along the normal route in steps 405 and 410, as described above, in many cases, the control ends with a part of the vehicle entering the stop area 31. The proportion of the portion of the vehicle within the stop area 31 increases as the parallel movement distance decreases. Therefore, the shorter the parallel movement distance, the higher the position accuracy required for movement control along the normal route, and the easier it becomes to control movement along the normal route.

Further, when the parking ECU 20 determines that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking frame 34, the parking ECU 20 may control the traveling actuator to stop the vehicle in the virtual parking frame 34, and then proceed to step 415. In this case, since the operation of moving along the normal route and the operation of controlling the arrival at the pallet 30 can be separated in terms of control, it is possible to save hardware or software resources for realizing continuous movement control. I can do it.

Alternatively, when the parking ECU 20 determines that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking slot 34, the parking ECU 20 proceeds to step 415 and subsequent step 420 to start correct arrival control while continuing to move the vehicle by controlling the driving 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 the correct arrival control, the parking ECU 20 temporarily decelerates the vehicle when passing the virtual parking frame 34, and then accelerates the vehicle to start the correct arrival control. You may. Furthermore, when the vehicle reaches the virtual parking space 34, information indicating that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking space 34 may be displayed on the in-vehicle display of the notification device 10. The information indicating that the virtual parking space 34 has been reached may be displayed in text. If the virtual parking space 34 has been displayed on the in-vehicle display since the time of movement control along the normal route, the display of information indicating that the vehicle has arrived at the virtual parking space 34 may be changed by changing the display form of the virtual parking space 34 ( For example, the display color may be changed, the thickness of the frame may be changed, or the display may be changed to blinking. If the virtual parking space 34 has been displayed on the in-vehicle display since the time of movement control along the normal route, the parking ECU 20 erases the display of the virtual parking space 34 when the vehicle reaches the virtual parking space 34. It may also indicate that the parking space 34 has been reached. Furthermore, when the parking ECU 20 arrives at the virtual parking space 34, the parking ECU 20 may notify that the vehicle has reached the virtual parking space 34 by using the speaker of the notification device 10 with audio such as a sound effect.

In 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 upright structures 32 and 33 at both ends of the pallet 30 in the width direction with respect to the vehicle, the relative position and relative direction of the stop area 31 between them 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 a 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 in step 205 is used for movement to the virtual parking space 34, whereas the detection result in step 415 is used for movement control from the virtual parking space 34 to the stop area 31, that is, correct arrival control. This is because it is used. Note that high accuracy 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 stopping area 31 in step 205 by inputting images of the surroundings of the vehicle to a certain trained neural network (for example, CNN). Then, in step 415, it is assumed that the positions of the standing objects 32, 33 and the stop area 31 are detected by inputting images of the surroundings of the vehicle to another trained neural network (for example, CNN). In this case, if the former neural net is the first neural network and the latter neural net is the second neural net, the second neural net will output more output than the first neural network 32, 33. The positional accuracy of the stop area 31 is high. The higher accuracy of the second neural network compared to the first neural network is achieved, for example, because the second neural network has a larger number of hidden layers than the first neural network. Good too. Note that CNN is an abbreviation for Convolutional Neural Network.

For example, in step 205, the parking ECU 20 detects images of the standing objects 32, 33 by template matching using images around the vehicle, and detects the standing objects 32, 33, the stopping area 33, It is also possible to detect the position of. Then, in step 415, the positions of the standing objects 32, 33 and the stopping 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 using template matching, in this case, the process of step 415 achieves higher detection accuracy than the process of step 205. Ru.

For example, in step 205, the parking ECU 20 may detect the positions of the standing objects 32, 33 and the stop area 31 based on images of the surroundings of the vehicle using only the peripheral camera 11 among the peripheral sensors. Then, in step 415, the positions of the standing objects 32, 33 and the stop area 31 may be detected using information acquired from the sonic sensor 12 in addition to the image of the surroundings of the vehicle. As a result, the processing in step 415 achieves high detection accuracy with respect to the processing in step 205.

For example, the parking ECU 20 may detect the positions of the standing objects 32 and 33 and the stop area 31 in step 205 and step 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 will inevitably be higher. .

Next, in step 420, the parking ECU 20 performs control to move the vehicle by a predetermined distance or a predetermined time in order to keep the vehicle within the stop area 31. That is, vehicle movement control is performed to set the target position of the vehicle within the stop area 31. This control is correct arrival control.

Specifically, by controlling the driving actuator, the vehicle is kept in the stop area while preventing each tire of 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. The movement of the vehicle is controlled so that it falls within 31. At this time, the information on the positions of the left front wheel, right front wheel, left rear wheel, and right rear wheel of the vehicle is recorded in advance in the nonvolatile memory of the parking ECU 20. Also, at this time, the positions of the stop area 31 and the erected objects 32 and 33 are specified using the latest detection results obtained in step 415.

At this time, if it is necessary to shift the position of the vehicle in the width direction, the steering actuator 17 can be controlled to use a variable steering angle that slightly shifts the vehicle from the straight-ahead position to move the vehicle forward and then backward. , come true. A small steering angle may be, for example, a steering angle that realizes a turning radius that is 5 times or more the minimum turning radius, or a steering angle that realizes a turning radius that is 10 times or more the minimum turning radius. good. Further, at this time, the vehicle speed may be adjusted by controlling the throttle actuator 16 and the brake actuator 18 as necessary.

Subsequently, in step 425, it is determined whether the entire vehicle has fallen within the stop area 31 based on the information output by the surrounding sensor. If it is determined that it is not within the range, the process returns to step 415. Thereby, the parking ECU 20 repeats detecting the positions of the standing structures 32 and 33 and the stopping area 31 in step 415 and moving the vehicle in step 420 until the vehicle is within the stopping area 31. If it is determined in step 420 that the vehicle is within the stop area 31, the driving actuator is controlled to stop the vehicle and the parking control is ended. 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, a virtual parking slot 34 closer to the vehicle is set. can do. Therefore, in steps 405 and 410, the vehicle can be moved to the virtual parking slot 34 with relatively high accuracy under the same control as the normal parking process 23. Further, after the vehicle approaches the stop area 31 as a result of the vehicle reaching the virtual parking slot 34, the stop area 31 can be re-detected in step 415. This enables more accurate and highly accurate position detection of the stop area 31.

Further, since the control in step 420 is to correct the position in the width direction of the vehicle, an algorithm for controlling the travel actuator can be created relatively easily, and the position accuracy of vehicle control is high. In this way, by adding a simple algorithm to an automatic parking support system for regular parking lots, it becomes possible to support mechanical parking equipment that requires control with high positional accuracy. Furthermore, there is no need to communicate with the parking facility as in Patent Document 1. However, as another example, the parking ECU 20 may communicate with the parking facility side.

As explained above, on the normal route, when the vehicle is away from the stop area 31 of the pallet 30, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the longitudinal direction of the stop area 31 coincide. Further, 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, a wider space in which the vehicle can run can be secured on the opposite side of the pallet 30 with respect to the virtual parking frame 34. In turn, the possibility that the vehicle will not be able to be moved to the virtual parking slot 34 is reduced.

Note that if the parallel movement distance is shorter than the length of the stop area 31 in the vertical direction, a 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 slot 34, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the longitudinal direction of the pallet 30 coincide with each other when the vehicle is away from the stop area 31. Therefore, compared to the case where the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the longitudinal direction of the stopping area 31 match when the vehicle contacts the stopping area 31 on the normal route or after that, the vehicle along the normal route until reaching the virtual parking slot 34 In movement control, entry into the stop area 31 is easy.

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

(1) The parking ECU 20 determines the turning radius of a virtual route from the current position of the vehicle within the stop area 31 based on 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. The smaller the value, the longer the parallel movement distance is set.

The shorter the parallel movement distance, the wider the space that can be secured for the vehicle on the opposite side of the pallet 30 with respect to the virtual parking space 34 as a reference. Accuracy increases. Therefore, the inventor focused on the fact that the larger the turning radius of the above-mentioned virtual route, the higher the accuracy of the vehicle position by travel control, and the turning radius of the virtual routes R1 and R2 that fall within the stopping area 31 is The idea was to set the parallel movement distance to be longer as the size is smaller. Thereby, an appropriate parallel movement distance can be set depending on 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 steps 330 and 335, the parking ECU 20 sets the parallel movement distance to be longer as the space in which the vehicle can run on the vehicle side of the pallet 30 is wider. By doing so, it is possible to calculate an appropriate parallel movement 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. The route cost increases as the number of turnarounds on the normal route increases, or as the time expected to travel to the stopping area 31 of the vehicle increases.

In this way, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the route of the vehicle will become excessively complex or that the time for parking will become excessively long. This can reduce the possibility that the user will feel uncomfortable about moving the vehicle for parking.

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

By doing this, 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 car stops after reaching the virtual parking space 34. 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 first movement control by executing steps 405 and 410. function as a department. Furthermore, the parking ECU 20 functions as a second movement control section by executing steps 415, 420, and 425.

(Other embodiments)
Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified as appropriate. Further, in the embodiments described above, the elements constituting the embodiments are not necessarily essential, except in cases where it is clearly stated that they are essential, or where they are 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, it is especially specified that they are essential, or it is clearly limited to a specific number in principle. It is not limited to that specific number, except in cases where In particular, when multiple values for a certain quantity are exemplified, it is also possible to adopt a value between those multiple values, unless otherwise specified or unless it is clearly impossible in principle. . In addition, in the above embodiments, when referring to the shape, positional relationship, etc. of constituent elements, etc., the shape, position, etc. are referred to, unless otherwise specified or in principle limited to a specific shape, positional relationship, etc. It is not limited to relationships, etc. 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 acquired from a sensor, that sensor is discontinued and the external environment information is received from a server or cloud external to the vehicle. It is also possible to do so. Alternatively, it is also possible to eliminate the sensor, acquire relevant information related to the external environment information from a server or cloud external to the vehicle, and estimate the external environment information from the acquired relevant information. Further, the present disclosure allows the following modifications and equivalent modifications to the above embodiment. Note that the following modifications can be independently selected to be applied or not to the above embodiment. That is, any combination of the following modified examples, excluding obviously contradictory combinations, can be applied to the above embodiment.

Further, the control unit and the method 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 a computer program. , may be realized. Alternatively, the controller and techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by a processor configured with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be implemented using 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 be implemented by one or more dedicated computers configured. The computer program may also be stored as instructions executed by a computer on a computer-readable non-transitory tangible storage medium.

Further, in the above embodiment, the parking ECU 20 is installed in the vehicle, but it does not necessarily have to be installed in the vehicle. For example, the parking ECU 20 may be realized as a server outside the vehicle that can communicate with the vehicle. Good too.

Further, in the above embodiment, the parallel movement distance is a variable value depending on various conditions, but the parallel movement distance may be set as a predetermined fixed value.

Further, in the above embodiment, in steps 320 and 350, a normal route calculated using the same algorithm as 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 not necessarily be calculated using an algorithm different from that of the normal parking process 23.

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

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

Further, in the above embodiment, the peripheral camera 11, the sonic 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 a combination. For example, the peripheral camera 11 may be provided as a peripheral sensor, and the sonic sensor 12, millimeter wave sensor 13, and laser sensor 14 may be omitted.

Claims (8)

A vehicle parking device that controls a vehicle to park the vehicle on a pallet (30) of a mechanical parking facility,
a detection unit (205) that detects a stop area (31) of the vehicle within the pallet;
A virtual parking frame (34) 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 the direction of entry into the stop area, and , a setting unit (215) that sets a scheduled route (R4, R5, R6, R7) to the virtual parking slot;
a first movement control unit (405, 410) that performs correct arrival control to move the vehicle according to the scheduled route until it reaches the virtual parking slot;
a second movement control unit (415, 420, 425) that moves the vehicle so that the vehicle falls within the stop area after movement by the first movement control unit;
In the planned route, when the vehicle is away 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 shift 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. The setting unit determines a virtual route (R1, The vehicle parking device according to claim 1, wherein the smaller the turning radius in R2), the longer the positional deviation amount is set. The vehicle parking device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the setting unit sets the positional deviation amount to be longer as the space in which the vehicle can run is wider on the vehicle side of the pallet. The setting unit sets the positional deviation amount so that the route cost of the planned route does not exceed an upper limit,
The vehicle parking device according to claim 3, wherein the route cost increases as the number of turnarounds on the planned route increases, or as the time expected to move the vehicle to the stopping area increases. . The second movement control unit detects the stop area with higher positional accuracy than the detection unit, and moves the vehicle so as to fit the vehicle in the stop area based on the detected result. 4. The vehicle parking device according to any one of 4. The first movement control unit stops the vehicle after the vehicle reaches the virtual parking slot,
6. The second movement control section moves the vehicle so that the vehicle falls within the stop area after the first movement control section stops the vehicle. vehicle parking device. 6. The second movement control section starts the correct arrival control while continuing to move the vehicle when the first movement control section causes the vehicle to reach the virtual parking slot. The vehicle parking device according to item 1. A program used in a vehicle parking device (20) for controlling a vehicle to park the vehicle on a pallet (30) of a mechanical parking facility, the program comprising:
a detection unit (205) that detects a stop area (31) of the vehicle within the pallet;
A virtual parking frame (34) 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 the direction of entry into the stop area, and , a setting unit (215) that sets a scheduled route (R4, R5, R6, R7) to the virtual parking slot;
a first movement control unit (405, 410) that moves the vehicle according to the scheduled route until it reaches the virtual parking slot;
a second movement control unit (415, 420, 425) that moves the vehicle so that the vehicle falls within the stop area after movement by the first movement control unit;
In the planned route, when the vehicle is away from the stop area, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle coincides with the longitudinal direction of the stop area,
The program, wherein a positional shift 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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