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JP-7857397-B2 - Methods, computer program products, parking assistance systems, and parking devices

JP7857397B2JP 7857397 B2JP7857397 B2JP 7857397B2JP-7857397-B2

Inventors

  • ニコラス、イェッカー
  • ラッセ、シュネペル
  • マルテ、ヨース
  • ルドビック、モニエ－トーマス
  • ティルマライ、クマラサミー、アヤッパン
  • ファビアン、フックス

Assignees

  • ヴァレオ・シャルター・ウント・ゼンゾーレン・ゲーエムベーハー

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20220720
Priority Date
20210727

Claims (13)

  1. A method for operating a parking assistance system (100) for a parking facility (101), wherein the parking facility (101) provides a plurality of parking spaces (120) for an autonomously driving vehicle (202) in a predetermined area (110), and includes a handover area (130) for handing over the vehicle (202) from a user (300) to the parking assistance system (100) or vice versa. Step (S1) the parking assistance system (100) receives a request (REF) from the user (300) of the vehicle (202) regarding the use of the parking equipment (101) at specific time intervals, wherein the request (REF) includes at least one handover time. The parking assistance system (100) includes the step (S2) of determining a first expected usage state of the parking facility (101) at the handover time according to a plurality of usage parameters, The parking assistance system (100) includes the step (S3) of comparing the first expected usage state that is determined with a specific usage threshold, The parking assistance system (100) includes the step (S4) of determining an alternative handover time in accordance with the comparison, wherein the alternative handover time is determined such that a second expected usage state at the alternative handover time is lower than the first expected usage state and/or is lower than or equal to the specific usage threshold. The parking assistance system (100) sends a message (MSG) including the alternative handover time to the user (300) (S5), Includes, Depending on the parameters determined by the infrastructure of the parking facility (101), depending on the type and/or technical configuration of at least one other vehicle (201-203) that uses the parking facility (101) and/or is located in the predetermined area (110) during the particular time interval, and/or depending on the limitations of the parking facility (101) planned for a predetermined period and/or current limitations, the usage threshold is dynamically determined. The usage threshold corresponds to the use of the parking facility (101) when the average speed of vehicles (201-203) using the parking facility (101) and/or moving through the predetermined area (110) is lower than a predetermined speed.
  2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the parking assistance system (100) determines an expected handover period, the expected handover period being the expected period for handing over the vehicle (202) from the user (300) to the parking assistance system (100) or vice versa at the handover time corresponding to the first expected usage state determined, and the message (MSG) additionally includes the determined expected handover period.
  3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the parking assistance system (100) determines an expected alternative handover period, the expected alternative handover period being the expected period for handing over the vehicle (202) from the user (300) to the parking assistance system (100) or vice versa at the determined alternative handover time corresponding to the determined second expected usage state, and the message (MSG) additionally includes the determined expected alternative handover period.
  4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the parking assistance system (100) determines the difference between the determined expected delivery period and the determined alternative expected delivery period, and the message (MSG) additionally includes the determined difference or includes only the alternative delivery time and the determined difference.
  5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the usage parameters include: the expected number of vehicles (201-204) using the parking facility (101) and/or moving through the designated area (110) during the time interval or a partial interval of the time interval; and/or at least one further request received by another user regarding the use of the parking facility (101); and/or information regarding the type and/or configuration of further vehicles (201-203) using the parking facility (101) and/or moving through the designated area (110) during the time interval; and/or the time period of the handover; and/or the weather forecast for a particular period; and/or public or private events scheduled within the designated period; and/or services reserved by other users of the parking facility (101) within the time interval; and/or learned statistics regarding the usage.
  6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the request (REQ) for the use of the parking facility (101) includes at least one drop-off time and parking period or drop-off time and retrieval time.
  7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the request (REF) for the use of the parking facility (101) includes information regarding the type of vehicle (202) and/or information regarding its technical configuration.
  8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the parking assistance system (100) receives a new request (REF) from the user (300) in response to the transmission of the message (MSG) to the user (300), and the new request (REF) includes a different delivery time than the first request (REF) received by the parking assistance system (100) prior to the new request (REF).
  9. A computer program product comprising instructions, wherein, when the program is executed by a computer, the instructions cause the computer to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 8.
  10. A parking assistance system (100) for a parking facility (101), wherein the parking facility (101) provides a plurality of parking spaces (120) for an autonomously driving vehicle (202) in a predetermined area (110), and includes a handover area (130) for handing over the vehicle (202) from a user (300) to the parking assistance system (100) or vice versa. A receiving unit (102) for receiving requests (REF) from the user (300) of the vehicle (202) regarding the use of the parking facility (101) at specific time intervals, wherein the request (REF) includes at least one handover time, A determination unit (104) for determining a first expected usage state of the parking facility (101) at the handover time according to multiple usage parameters, A comparison unit (106) for comparing the first expected usage state determined with a specific usage threshold, The determination unit (104) is further configured to determine an alternative delivery time in accordance with the comparison, and the alternative delivery time is determined such that a second expected utilization state at the alternative delivery time is lower than the first expected utilization state and/or lower than or equal to the utilization threshold, and a comparison unit (106) is also configured to determine an alternative delivery time such that, A transmission unit (108) for sending a message (MSG) including the alternative delivery time to the user (300), Equipped with, Depending on the parameters determined by the infrastructure of the parking facility (101), depending on the type and/or technical configuration of at least one other vehicle (201-203) that uses the parking facility (101) and/or is located in the predetermined area (110) during the particular time interval, and/or depending on the limitations of the parking facility (101) planned for a predetermined period and/or current limitations, the usage threshold is dynamically determined. The aforementioned usage threshold corresponds to the use of the parking facility (101) when the average speed of vehicles (201-203) using the parking facility (101) and/or moving through the predetermined area (110) is lower than the predetermined speed. Parking assist system (100).
  11. A parking facility (101) that provides multiple parking spaces (120) for an autonomously driving vehicle (202) in a predetermined area (110), and includes a handover area (130) for handing over the vehicle (202) from a user (300) to a parking assistance system (100) or vice versa, wherein the parking assistance system (100) is designed as described in claim 10.
  12. The parking assistance system (100) is designed as a Type 2 valet parking assistance system and comprises a plurality of sensor units arranged in the predetermined area (110) to detect the vehicles (201-203) present in the predetermined area (110) and to output respective sensor signals; the parking assistance system (100) also comprises a control unit configured for remote control of the vehicles (201-203) based on the sensor signals output by the sensor units, as described in claim 11.
  13. The parking assistance system (100) is designed as a Type 1 valet parking assistance system and comprises a plurality of optically detectable and clearly distinguishable markers positioned at certain locations within the predetermined area (110), wherein the markers can be used by an autonomously moving vehicle for position determination during autonomous driving within the predetermined area (110), as described in claim 11 or 12.

Description

This invention relates to a method for operating a parking assistance system, a computer program product, a parking assistance system, and parking equipment. Vehicles with automatic parking capabilities are known, and these are specifically configured for the automatic parking of vehicles in appropriate parking facilities or parking spaces. Such systems are called, for example, automatic valet parking systems. A distinction is made between these two types. In the first type, the vehicle controls itself, and the parking facility has appropriate functions for directing the vehicle, such as an ARUCO code. In the second type, the vehicle is remotely controllable, and the parking facility has sensors and route planning means for controlling the vehicle. There may be various intermediate stages between these two types, in which functions are distributed differently between the vehicle and the parking facility. The advantage of such parking assistance systems is that the user of the compatible vehicle does not need to drive the vehicle to the parking space themselves. For example, the vehicle can be left at the entrance of a parking facility or garage, and then the vehicle will autonomously drive to the parking space or be remotely controlled. This is convenient for the user and saves them time. Even when retrieving the vehicle, it will autonomously drive to the exit or be remotely controlled upon request, so the user does not need to search for the vehicle at all, which can be a problem in large parking lots or facilities. DE 10 2017 222 658 A1 discloses a method for supporting driverless driving of an automobile in a parking facility with multiple parking spaces, wherein the occupancy status of parking spaces is monitored, and based on this information, a parking space for an individual vehicle is determined. Then, a route to the parking space is determined, and the vehicle is remotely guided to the determined parking space. However, parking lots or facilities have limited capacity; in particular, there is a limit to the number of vehicles that can move simultaneously in a parking lot or facility. If too many vehicles are moving simultaneously in a parking lot or facility, they can block each other, leading to congestion. Congestion is uneconomical because vehicles in congestion waste energy without any benefit. Furthermore, traffic congestion can result in unexpected waiting times for users to disembark from or retrieve their vehicles, which can make such systems unacceptable and frustrate users. Against this backdrop, the objective of the present invention is to improve the operation of the parking assistance system. According to the first aspect, a method for operating a parking assistance system for a parking facility is proposed. The parking facility provides a plurality of parking spaces for autonomously driving vehicles in a predetermined area and includes a handover area for handing over a vehicle from a user to the parking assistance system, or vice versa. The method includes the following steps: The company receives requests from vehicle users regarding the use of parking facilities at specific time intervals, and these requests must include at least the handover time. Based on multiple usage parameters, the first expected use of the parking facilities at the time of handover is determined. Comparing the first expected usage to be determined with a specific usage threshold, Based on that comparison, an alternative delivery time is determined such that the second expected usage at the alternative delivery time is lower than the first expected usage and/or below the usage threshold, and a message including the alternative delivery time is sent to the user. This parking assistance system has the advantage of making parking facility use more uniform overall, as it proposes appropriate alternative handover times to users of the parking facilities, which they can then accept. It can also be said that the use of the parking assistance system and parking facilities is optimized through user cooperation. The requirements for this are the determination of the expected usage in handover and alternative handover times as accurately as possible, and the determination of usage thresholds. By balancing overall usage, the average speed of vehicles in a given area increases, and traffic congestion in that area can be avoided in particular. This has the advantage of reducing the energy consumption of vehicles for movement within or through a given area. Furthermore, this is advantageous because a decrease in traffic density in a given area reduces the risk of collisions. Parking facilities operated using a parking assistance system include, for example, a designated area comprising a parking lot or parking facilities. This designated area includes multiple parking spaces for autonomously driven vehicles, and additionally, multiple parking spaces for manually controlled vehicles. When the designated area provides parking