Patent Application
20140244095
This application is based on and claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0022156, filed on Feb. 28, 2013 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and a method for guiding parking, and more particularly, to a technology of guiding a vehicle location and an operation method of the parking guidance apparatus for a driver to park more easily.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a parking guidance system recognizes a parking space in the vicinity of a vehicle using an ultrasonic sensor to guide parking and, for manual parking, the parking guidance system recognizes a parked vehicle or an obstacle to guide the vehicle and decrease a risk of collision with a corresponding vehicle in advance.
In a vehicle which supports an around view monitor (AVM) system, parking of the vehicle may be guided using a top view image from a side, a rear, or in every direction. In this case, a user may avoid the collision with a nearby vehicle or obstacle while parking, however, the user may feel pressure when parking because the user needs to view the AVM image and, at the same time, determines a direction of the vehicle, a stopping time point, and a direction and an angle of a steering wheel until the vehicle is parked at a target parking position.
The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for parking guidance which provides guidance to a vehicle location and an operation method of the parking guidance apparatus for a driver to park more easily in a vehicle parking mode.
In addition, the present invention provides an apparatus and a method for parking guidance which reduces difficulty in performing parking by providing a guidance message in real time that induces a location change of a vehicle while parking, a moving time point, a stopping time point, a heading direction, a speed, a travel distance, an operation direction and an angle of a steering wheel of the vehicle, etc., based on a location change and an operation status of the vehicle.
Further, the present invention provides an apparatus and a method for parking guidance which enables a user to recognize parking guidance information more easily by configuring a guidance screen that includes guidance information for parking support and displaying the guidance screen in real time.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a parking guidance apparatus may include: a target parking area recognition unit that recognizes and determines an area selected by a user as a target parking area when a vehicle parking mode is operated; a calculation unit that calculates a parking starting point based on the determined target parking area and calculates a parking trajectory from the parking starting point; a vehicle operation information generation unit that generates operation guidance information for inducing the vehicle to the parking starting point based on the parking starting point selected by the user and a location of the vehicle and for supporting parking from the parking starting point to the target parking area; and a screen configuration unit that configures a guidance screen that includes information generated from the calculation unit or the vehicle operation information generation unit when the vehicle is operated in the parking mode. The target parking area recognition unit may be configured to determine a parking lot selected by the user or an empty area which does not have a parking lot line and is designated by the user as the target parking area.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a parking guidance apparatus may further include a vehicle information collection unit that collects location information of the vehicle and operation status information of the vehicle when the vehicle is operated in the parking mode. The vehicle operation information generation ay be configured to generate the operation guidance information of the vehicle in real time, based on a change in the location information of the vehicle and the operation status of the vehicle, based on the target parking area. The screen configuration unit may be configured to set up (e.g., configure) a selection screen that guides the parking starting point and the parking trajectory calculated by the calculation unit and receive lection of the parking starting point and set up a parking induction screen that includes the operation guidance information generated in real time by the vehicle operation information generation unit. The vehicle guidance information may include at least one of a group consisting of: a guidance message that induces a location change to the parking starting point or the target parking area for the vehicle, a moving time point, a stopping time point, a heading direction, a speed, a travel distance, an operation direction and an angle of a steering wheel of the vehicle.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a parking guidance apparatus may further include a display that displays the guidance screen configured by the screen configuration unit.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a parking guidance method may include: recognizing and determining, by a controller, an area selected by a user as a target parking area when a vehicle parking mode is operated; calculating, by the controller, a parking starting point based on the determined target parking area and calculating a parking trajectory from the parking starting point; generating, by the controller, operation guidance information that induces the vehicle to the parking starting point based on the parking starting point selected by the user and a location of the vehicle and that guides parking from the parking starting point to the target parking area; and configuring, by a controller, a guidance screen that includes information generated when the vehicle is operated in the parking mode.
The determining of the target parking area may include determining, by the controller, a parking lot selected by the user or an empty area which does not have a parking lot line and designated by the user as the target parking area.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a parking guidance method may further include collecting, by the controller, location information of the vehicle and operation status information of the vehicle when the vehicle is operated in the parking mode. The generating the vehicle operation information may include generating, by the controller, the operation guidance information of the vehicle in real time, based on a change in the location information of the vehicle and the operation status of the vehicle, based on the target parking area. The configuring the guidance screen may include: configuring, by the controller, a selection screen that guides the calculated parking starting point and parking trajectory and receives selection of the parking starting point; and configuring a parking induction screen that includes the operation guidance information generated in real time.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a parking guidance method further may further include displaying, by the controller, the guidance screen configured by the screen configuration unit.
The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, combustion, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum).
Although exemplary embodiment is described as using a plurality of units to perform the exemplary process, it is understood that the exemplary processes may also be performed by one or plurality of modules. Additionally, it is understood that the term controller/control unit refers to a hardware device that includes a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store the modules and the processor is specifically configured to execute said modules to perform one or more processes which are described further below.
Furthermore, control logic, of the present invention may be embodied as non-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller/control unit or the like. Examples of the computer readable mediums include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards and optical data storage devices. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion, e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, the term “about” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art, for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean. “About” can be understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear from the context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term “about.”
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings in detail. The same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and structures incorporated herein may be omitted to avoid obscuring the subject matter of the present invention.
Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The target parking area recognition unit 120 may be configured to determine a target parking area by recognizing an area selected by a user when a vehicle parking mode is operated. In particular, the display 180 may be a touch screen type, and the user may select a desired parking area within an AVM image displayed on the display 180. In addition, the area selected by the user may be an empty parking lot or an area designated by the user in an empty area where a parking lot line does not exist. An operation of receiving selection by the user of the parking area will be described in more detail with reference to
The vehicle information gathering unit 130 may be configured to gather location information of the vehicle and operation status information of the vehicle while the vehicle is operated as parking mode. For example, the vehicle information gathering unit 130 may be configured to gather the location information of the vehicle via a distance measuring sensor such as global positioning system (GPS) module or an ultrasonic sensor. In addition, the vehicle inform gathering unit 130 may be configured to collect the operation status information of the vehicle via a controller that executes an operation of an accelerator, a brake, a gear, and a steering wheel of the vehicle or a sensor equipped in each unit. Further, the vehicle information gathering unit 130 may additionally be configured to gather the vehicle information such as a length, a width, and a maximum rotation angle of the vehicle.
The calculation unit 150 may include a parking starting point calculation unit 151 and a parking trajectory calculation unit 155. In particular, the parking starting point calculation unit 151 may be configured to calculate a parking starting point at which the vehicle may be easily parked based on the target parking area determined by the target parking area recognition unit 120. In addition, the parking starting point calculation unit 151 may be configured to calculate a plurality of parking starting points of parking patterns supported with respect to the target parking area.
For example, the parking starting point calculation unit 151 may be configured to calculate a parking starting point for a forward parking and a parking starting point for a reverse parking based on the target parking area. In particular, information about the parking starting point calculated by the parking starting point calculation unit 151 may be displayed on the display 180 through a guidance screen configured by the screen configuration unit 170. Therefore, the user may select the parking starting point displayed on the display 180. An operation of receiving the parking starting point from the user will be described in more detail with reference to
The parking trajectory calculation unit 155 may be configured to calculate a parking trajectory from at least one parking starting point calculated by the parking starting point calculation unit 151 to the target parking area. In particular, the parking trajectory calculation unit 155 may be configured to calculate a full-turn based parking trajectory based on the vehicle information such as the length, the width, and the maximum rotation angle of the vehicle. In addition, the parking trajectory calculated by the parking trajectory calculation unit 155 may be displayed on the display 180 through the guidance screen configured by the screen configuration unit 170 and may be displayed with the guidance screen of the parking starting point upon display of the guidance screen of the parking starting point.
Specifically, the screen configuration unit 170 may be configured to guide the parking starting point and the parking trajectory, and simultaneously, set up a selection screen that receives a selection of the parking starting point from the user, and display the selection screen through the display 180. An exemplary embodiment for displaying the guidance screen including the full-turn based parking trajectory will be described with reference to
When one of at least one parking starting point calculated by the parking starting point calculation unit 151 is selected by the user, the vehicle operation information generation unit 160 may be configured to generate operation guidance information that induces the vehicle to the parking starting point based on the selected parking starting point and a current location of the vehicle. In addition, when the vehicle moves to the parking starting point based on the generated operation guidance information, the vehicle operation information generation unit 160 may be configured to generate operation guidance information that guides parking from the parking starting point to the target parking area. In particular, the operation guidance information may include at least one of a guidance message that induces a location change to the parking starting point or the target parking area for the vehicle, a moving time point, a stopping time point, a heading direction, a speed, a travel distance, and an operation direction and an angle of a steering wheel of the vehicle.
Furthermore, the vehicle operation information generation unit 160 may be configured to generate the operation guidance information of the vehicle in real time based on a change in the location information of the vehicle and the operation status of the vehicle, based on the parking starting point or the target parking area. The operation guidance information generated by the vehicle operation information generation unit 160 may be displayed on the display 180 through the guidance screen configured by the screen configuration unit 170.
Although not shown in
The screen configuration unit 170 may be configured to set up (e.g., configure) the guidance screen that includes information generated by the calculation unit 150 and the vehicle operation information generation unit 160 while the vehicle is operated under the parking mode. For example, the screen configuration unit 170 may be configured to guide the parking starting point and parking trajectory calculated by the calculation unit 150 and set up the selection screen to receive selection of the parking starting point. In addition, the screen configuration unit 170 may be configured to set up a parking inducement screen that includes the operation guidance information generated in real time by the vehicle operation information generation unit 160.
Additionally, the display 180 may be configured to display the guidance screen set up by the screen configuration unit 170 and provide location change inducement information and the operation guidance information to the user in real time. Therefore, the user may verify the guidance information provided through the guidance screen displayed on the display 180 whenever a location of the vehicle changes and, in this manner, the user may perform parking of the vehicle in an easier and simpler way.
When the parking area is selected through the screen of (b), the parking guidance apparatus may be configured to determine the parking area selected from (b) as the target parking area and receive a parking pattern from the user by calculating the parking starting point and the parking trajectory for each possible parking pattern based on the target parking area and display the parking starting point and the parking trajectory through the display, as shown in (c).
In particular, when the parking pattern is determined according to the user's selection of one of the parking starting point, the parking guidance apparatus may be configured to set up and display a screen that induces the vehicle to move to the parking starting point through the display, as shown in (d). In addition, when the vehicle moves to the parking starting point, the parking guidance apparatus may be configured to provide, in real time, the operation guidance information that guides parking from the parking starting point to the target parking area, as shown (e).
First,
First,
Meanwhile,
Further, when the vehicle arrives at the parting starting point, the parking guidance apparatus may be configured to guide the operation direction and the angle of the steering wheel, the driving direction (reverse direction), and the stopping point, as in (b) and (c) to allow the vehicle to be parallel reverse parked in an easy and convenient manner.
Meanwhile,
An operation flow of the parking guidance apparatus according to the present invention configured as above is described in detail below.
Furthermore, when any one of the parking starting point is selected by the user (S180), the operation guidance information may be generated, by the controller, based on a condition and the location of the vehicle (S190), the vehicle operation guidance screen may be configured (S200), by the controller, and the configured guidance screen may be output, by the controller, through the display (S210). Steps S190 to S210 may be repeatedly performed until the parking is completed, and when the parking is completed (S220), the parking guidance may be terminated.
According to the present invention, in a vehicle parking mode, a guidance message that induces a location change of a vehicle while parking a vehicle, a moving time point, a stopping time point, a heading direction, a speed, a travel distance, an operation direction and an angle of a steering wheel of the vehicle, etc., may be provided in real time based on a location change and an operation status of the vehicle, and thus, the present invention is advantageous in that difficulty in performing parking may be reduced.
Further, the present invention may configure a guidance screen that includes guidance information for parking support and display the guidance screen in real time, and thus, the present invention is advantageous in that a user may recognize parking guidance information more easily.
While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the accompanying claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2013-0022156 | Feb 2013 | KR | national |
