US-12617389-B2 - Parking assistance method and parking assistance device

Abstract

A parking assistance method is provided, which performs autonomous travel of a vehicle based on a teaching travel by a driver. The parking assistance method: stores a traveling route traveled by the vehicle according to a driving operation of the driver; displays first image information representing a start position of the traveling route in a first display mode; and displays second image information representing a parking position of the traveling route in a second display mode different from the first display mode.

Inventors

• Takafumi Tokuhiro
• Masashi Hoshino
• Satoshi Fukumoto

Assignees

• PANASONIC AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20241021

Priority Date

20210831

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A parking assistance method of performing autonomous travel of a vehicle based on a teaching travel by a driver, the parking assistance method comprising: storing a traveling route traveled by the vehicle according to a driving operation of the driver; displaying first image information representing a start position of the traveling route in a first display mode; and displaying second image information representing a parking position of the traveling route in a second display mode different from the first display mode.
2. 2 . The driving assistance method according to claim 1 , wherein the first image information includes a frame representing the start position of the traveling route, and the second image information includes a frame representing the parking position of the traveling route.
3. 3 . The driving assistance method according to claim 1 , further comprising: displaying the second image information in a color different from the first image information.
4. 4 . The driving assistance method according to claim 1 , further comprising: displaying a vehicle image representing the vehicle.
5. 5 . The driving assistance method according to claim 1 , further comprising: overlaying the first image information and the second image information onto a composite image synthesized based on peripheral images of the vehicle acquired during the teaching travel.
6. 6 . The driving assistance method according to claim 1 , further comprising: displaying the vehicle that stops at the start position of the traveling route.
7. 7 . The driving assistance method according to claim 1 , further comprising: guiding a position of the vehicle to the start position where the vehicle should stop at the start position of the parking assistance method.
8. 8 . The driving assistance method according to claim 1 , wherein the first image information and the second image information are included in a same image.
9. 9 . The driving assistance method according to claim 8 , wherein the first image information and the second image information are interconnected via a line.
10. 10 . The driving assistance method according to claim 9 , wherein the second image information includes an arrow-shape, with the line being connected to a base of the arrow-shape.
11. 11 . The driving assistance method according to claim 10 , wherein the line interconnects a point of the first image information on the traveling route and the base of the arrow-shape.
12. 12 . The driving assistance method according to claim 11 , wherein the line interconnecting the point of the first image information on the traveling route and the base of the arrow-shape is a solid line.
13. 13 . The driving assistance method according to claim 12 , wherein the solid line interconnecting the point of the first image information on the traveling route and the base of the arrow-shape is a same color as at least one of the first image information and the arrow-shape included in the second image information.
14. 14 . The driving assistance method according to claim 13 , wherein the solid line interconnecting the point of the first image information on the traveling route and the base of the arrow-shape is curved.
15. 15 . The driving assistance method according to claim 13 , wherein the same image, which includes the first image information and the second image information interconnected via the line, does not include travelling routes outside of the point of the first image information on the traveling route and the arrow-shape of the second image information.
16. 16 . The driving assistance method according to claim 13 , wherein the first image information and the second image information which are interconnected via the line in the same image are separated from and not connected to any travelling routes outside of the first image information and the second image information on the traveling route.
17. 17 . The driving assistance method according to claim 13 , wherein the same image includes additional travelling routes which are not connected to the first image information and the second image information, which are interconnected via the line in the same image.
18. 18 . The driving assistance method according to claim 8 , wherein the first image information includes a first start position of the traveling route to the parking position and a second start position of the traveling route to the parking position.
19. 19 . A parking assistance device that performs autonomous travel of a vehicle based on a teaching travel by a driver, the parking assistance device comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to: store a traveling route traveled by the vehicle according to a driving operation of the driver; display first image information representing a start position of the traveling route in a first display mode; and display second image information representing a parking position of the traveling route in a second display mode different from the first display mode.
20. 20 . The parking assistance device according to claim 19 , wherein the first image information includes a frame representing the start position of the traveling route, and the second image information includes a frame representing the parking position of the traveling route.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/873,924, filed Jul. 26, 2022, which is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-141604, filed Aug. 31, 2021. The entire disclosure of each of the above-mentioned documents is incorporated herein by reference its entirety. FIELD Embodiments described herein relate generally to a parking assistance method and a parking assistance device. BACKGROUND Conventionally, a parking assistance technology that, when a vehicle is parked, moves the vehicle by using automated driving, is known. Such parking assistance technology includes one technology that learns a travel route on the basis of teaching travel by a driver and uses the results of that learning to provide parking assistance. This technology is used, for example, when a user repeatedly parks in a fixed parking position, such as the parking lot at the home or work place of the user. In a case where the user uses such parking assistance, after the vehicle arrives near the target parking position, a procedure for starting automatic parking is performed after activating the parking assistance function, and thus it takes time to actually start the automatic parking. For example, Japanese Patent No. 6022447 discloses that notification of whether or not it is possible to park in a parking space is issued on the basis of sensor data, and that the driver starts or stops the parking process upon receipt of the notification. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2019-137158 discloses that preparations for parking assistance, such as guidance to the user that automatic parking is possible when a distance between a target parking position and the vehicle is equal to or less than a threshold value, are started in advance. However, in this case, there is a possibility that the user will be annoyed by the start of guidance on parking assistance or the like even when the user does not actually have an intention of parking. The present disclosure provides a parking assistance method and a parking assistance device that enable preparations for parking assistance to be started smoothly before a vehicle arrives near a target parking position. SUMMARY A parking assistance method according to the present disclosure is a method of performing autonomous travel of a vehicle based on a travel route generated using teaching travel by a driver. The parking assistance method includes: acquiring an absolute position and an azimuth in a travel direction of the vehicle; and determining, based on the absolute position and the azimuth in the travel direction, whether or not the vehicle is located oriented with a prescribed azimuth in a prescribed position, which are registered in association with the travel route. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle equipped with a parking assistance device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration in the vicinity of a vehicle driving seat according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the parking assistance device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an environment to which home zone parking according to the first embodiment is applied; FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functions of the parking assistance device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a simulated example of a plurality of travel histories according to the first embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a calling point and a prescribed azimuth according to the first embodiment; FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a registration format of a calling point and a prescribed azimuth according to the first embodiment; FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which a vehicle is located at a second calling point according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which a vehicle is located at a first calling point according to the first embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification for prompting an operation to start parking assistance according to the first embodiment; FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of travel history recording processing executed by the parking assistance device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of calling point registration processing executed by the parking assistance device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of processing to issue notification that parking assistance can be started and to perform parking assistance, which is executed by the parking assistance device according to the first embodim