Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-06
2003-07-01
Camby, Richard M. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
C701S036000, C701S041000, C340S932200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06587760
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a parking support unit and a parking support method for assisting a steering operation of a motor vehicle during parallel parking, garaging, etc. of the vehicle.
2. Related Art
A conventional one of such units is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-79860. This unit displays a predicted vehicle route determined based on a steering angle during parking on a display screen positioned near a driver's seat. In connection with the predicted vehicle route, a window for finding white guide lines of a parking bay is prepared on the screen.
The window is moved on the screen for finding positions and orientations of the white lines to determine a geometrical arrangement of the parking bay. The unit provides a phonic advice of vehicle steering for a driver in consideration of the parking operation.
The conventional unit requires a complicated image processing for finding the white lines of the parking bay based on image information obtained by a camera. Thus, the unit needs a CPU having a higher process speed, disadvantageously increasing the cost of the unit.
Furthermore, the unit cannot be useful to guide the vehicle when there are no white lines in a parking bay and in a space between other stopped vehicles on a road, limiting the usage of the unit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantage of the conventional unit, an object of the invention is to provide a parking support unit and a parking support method for assisting a steering operation of a motor vehicle to correctly guide the vehicle into a parking bay. The vehicle can be moved backward according to a predicted vehicle route indicated on a display screen during a parking operation of the vehicle.
A parking support unit according to the present invention, as illustrated in a basic block diagram of
FIG. 1
, includes:
an image pickup means
101
for picking up an image FI of a rear area behind a motor vehicle, the rear area located at a predetermined position relative to the vehicle,
a display means
102
for displaying the rear area image FI,
a steering angle sensing means
103
,
a vehicle position sensing means
104
,
an image storing means
105
for storing a vehicle image VI, a predicted vehicle route image TR
1
, and an actual vehicle route image TR
2
of the vehicle, and
an image superposing means
106
,
wherein the vehicle image VI is superposed on a desired parking position P of the vehicle in the rear area image FI indicated by the display means
102
, and the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
is generated within the predetermined area based on a steering angle and an initial position of the vehicle, while the actual vehicle route image TR
2
is generated based on actual steering angles and positions of the vehicle, the image superposing means
106
indicating the vehicle image V
1
, the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
, and the actual vehicle route image TR
2
by the display means
102
to superpose them on the rear area image FI.
Thus, the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
showing a predicted vehicle route from the present stopped position to a desired parking position is superposed on the rear area image FI indicated on the screen. Furthermore, the actual vehicle route image TR
2
is generated based on actual steering angles and positions of the vehicle while the vehicle moves backward from the present stopped position to the desired parking position, and the actual vehicle route image TR
2
is superposed on the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
. A difference between the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
and the actual vehicle route image TR
2
is used for an appropriate operation correction of a steering wheel by a driver. Accordingly, the driver can move backward the vehicle even to a parking space having no guide lines for parking the vehicle.
The unit, an illustrated in
FIG. 1
, further has a computing means
107
for obtaining a difference between the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
and the actual vehicle route image TR
2
and a message informing means
108
for informing a steering angle correction message based on the difference.
Thus, the driver can advantageously know a deviation of the vehicle from a predicted vehicle route image TR
1
at an earlier stage of the parking operation, so that the driver can correct the deviation to park the vehicle with ease.
Preferably, the computing means
107
has a decision device
73
for determining a steering direction and a steering amount based on the difference between the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
and the actual vehicle route image TR
2
to correct the difference. The decision is noticed by the message informing means
108
.
Preferably, the computing means
107
has a decision device
71
for determining whether the vehicle can be moved backward to a desired parking position from the present position of the vehicle within a maximum steering angle of the vehicle. The decision is noticed by a voice of the message informing means
108
. This allows the driver not to repeat a parking operation toward a parking bay
Preferably, the computing means
107
has a calculating device
72
for calculating a preliminary forwarding distance which is necessary for the vehicle to be moved to a desired parking position from the present position of the vehicle within a maximum steering angle of the vehicle. The result is noticed by a voice of the message informing means
108
. Thus, when it is determined that the vehicle can not be moved backward to a desired parking position, the message informing means
108
gives a preliminary forwarding distance of the vehicle to enable the parking at the desired parking position. Thus, the driver can know a correct start point for moving backward the vehicle with ease, enabling an efficient parking operation of the vehicle.
A parking support method according to the present invention includes the steps of:
picking up an image FI of a rear area behind a motor vehicle, the rear area located at a predetermined position relative to the vehicle,
displaying the rear area image FI,
sensing a steering angle of the vehicle,
sensing a position of the vehicle,
storing a vehicle image V
1
, a predicted vehicle route image TR
1
, and an actual vehicle route image TR
2
of the vehicle, and indicating the vehicle image V
1
, the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
, and the actual vehicle route image TR
2
,
wherein the vehicle image VI is superposed on a desired parking position P of the vehicle in the rear area image FI, and the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
is generated within the predetermined area based on a steering angle and an initial position of the vehicle, while the actual vehicle route image TR
2
is generated based on actual steering angles and positions of the vehicle, the indicating step indicating the vehicle image V
1
, the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
, and the actual vehicle route image TR
2
to superpose them on the rear area image FI.
Thus, the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
showing a predicted vehicle route from the present stopped position to a desired parking position is superposed on the rear area image FI indicated on the screen. Furthermore, the actual vehicle route image TR
2
is generated based on actual steering angles and positions of the vehicle while the vehicle moves backward from the present stopped position to the desired parking position, and the actual vehicle route image TR
2
is superposed on the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
. A difference between the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
and the actual vehicle route image TR
2
is used for an appropriate correction of a steering wheel operation by a driver.
The method further has a step for obtaining a difference between the predicted vehicle route image TR
1
and the actual vehicle route image TR
2
and another step for informing a steering angle correction message based on the difference. Thus, the method can output a steering wheel turning direction based on the deference between the predicte
Armstrong Westerman & Hattori, LLP
Camby Richard M.
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