Parking Assistance System for Automated Pulling-Out of a Longitudinal Parking Space With a Reversing Move as the Last Pulling-Out Move

Abstract

A parking assistance system is provided for a motor vehicle for automated pulling-out with at least automated lateral control out of a longitudinal parking space. The automated pulling-out process comprises a plurality of pulling-out moves. The parking assistance system is designed to carry out, in an automated manner, a substantially linear reversing move as the last move of the automated pulling-out process before transferring control to the driver. The parking assistance system subsequently transfers control to the driver.

Claims

1.-15. (canceled)

16. A parking assistance system for a motor vehicle for automated pulling-out using at least automated lateral guiding out of a longitudinal parking space, comprising: an electronic control unit comprising a processor to execute one or more software programs configured to cause the electronic control unit to: control the vehicle to perform a plurality of pulling-out moves of an automated pulling-out process; before transferring control of the vehicle to a driver, control the vehicle to automatically perform an essentially linear reversing move as the last move of the automated pulling-out process, and transfer control of the vehicle to the driver.

17. The parking assistance system according to claim 16, wherein the one or more software programs are further configured to cause the electronic control unit to: determine, before the essentially linear reversing move, that the vehicle will subsequently be able to leave the parking space continuously in a forward move carried out manually by the driver while maintaining a distance criterion; and based on the determination, automatically carry out the essentially linear reversing move.

18. The parking assistance system according to claim 17, wherein the one or more software programs are further configured to cause the electronic control unit to: determine, during a forward move carried out automatically before the automatic essentially linear reversing move or upon completion of the forward move, that the vehicle will subsequently be able to leave the parking space continuously in a forward move carried out manually by the driver while maintaining a distance criterion.

19. The parking assistance system according to claim 17, wherein the one or more software programs are further configured to cause the electronic control unit to: determine, before the essentially linear reversing move carried out automatically, that the vehicle will subsequently be able to leave the parking space continuously in a forward move carried out manually by the driver while maintaining a distance criterion and with a full steering lock in the direction of the pulling-out side.

20. The parking assistance system according to claim 17, wherein the one or more software programs are further configured to cause the electronic control unit to: determine, after the essentially linear reversing move is carried out automatically, that the vehicle will not be able to leave the parking space continuously in a forward move carried out manually by the driver while maintaining a distance criterion; and based on the determination, carry out a second reversing move automatically having a specific steering angle against the pulling-out side instead of carrying out the essentially linear reversing move.

21. The parking assistance system according to claim 20, wherein the one or more software programs are further configured to cause the electronic control unit to: determine, after the essentially linear reversing move is carried out automatically, that the vehicle will not be able to leave the parking space continuously in a forward move carried out manually by the driver while maintaining a distance criterion; determine, after the second reversing move carried out using the specific steering angle against the pulling-out side, that the vehicle will be able to leave in a forward move carried out manually by the driver while maintaining a distance criterion; carry out the second reversing move having the specific steering angle against the pulling-out side as the last move of the automated pulling-out maneuver automatically; and transfer control to the driver.

22. The parking assistance system according to claim 16, wherein the one or more software programs are further configured to cause the electronic control unit to: steer in the direction of the pulling-out side with full steering lock upon completion of the essentially linear reversing move carried out automatically; or steer in the direction of the pulling-out side with full steering lock upon completion of a second reversing move having a specific steering angle against the pulling-out side.

23. The parking assistance system according to claim 16, wherein the parking assistance system is a parking assistance system for automated pulling out using automated lateral and longitudinal guiding.

24. The parking assistance system according to claim 16, wherein the one or more software programs are further configured to cause the electronic control unit to: before the transfer of control to the driver, to always carry out a reversing move automatically as the last move of the automated pulling-out process, and then to transfer control to the driver.

25. The parking assistance system according to claim 16, wherein the one or more software programs are further configured to cause the electronic control unit to: determine, before the essentially linear reversing move is carried out automatically, that upon completion of a forward move carried out automatically the vehicle can leave the parking space continuously in a forward move carried out manually by the driver while maintaining a distance criterion; and carry out the essentially linear reversing move automatically based on the determination.

26. A parking assistance system for a motor vehicle for automated pulling-out using at least automated lateral guiding out of a longitudinal parking space, comprising: an electronic control unit comprising a processor to execute one or more software programs configured to cause the electronic control unit to: control the vehicle to perform a plurality of pulling-out moves of an automated pulling-out process; before transferring control of the vehicle to a driver, control the vehicle to always automatically carry out a reversing move as the last move of the automated pulling-out process; and transfer control of the vehicle to the driver.

27. The parking assistance system according to claim 26, wherein the one or more software programs are further configured to cause the electronic control unit to: determine, before the reversing move is carried out automatically, that the vehicle will subsequently be able to leave the parking space continuously in a forward move carried out manually by the driver while maintaining a distance criterion; and based on the determination, automatically carry out the reversing move as the last move.

28. A method for automated pulling out using at least automated lateral guiding out of a longitudinal parking space via a motor vehicle, comprising: performing a plurality of pulling-out moves of an automated pulling-out process; before transferring control of the vehicle to a driver, controlling the vehicle to automatically perform an essentially linear reversing move as the last move of the automated pulling-out process, and transferring control of the vehicle to the driver.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the vehicle is controlled to automatically perform the essentially linear reversing move as the last move of the automated pulling-out process in each case before transferring control of the vehicle to the driver.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of the functionality of an example embodiment of a parking assistance system according to the present subject matter for pulling out; and

[0044] FIGS. 2a-2d show a top view of an example pulling-out situation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] FIG. 1 schematically shows a simplified flow chart of the functionality of an example embodiment of a parking assistance system according to the present subject matter for pulling out using automated longitudinal and lateral guiding. However, the example embodiment may be transferred to a parking assistance system for pulling out only having automated lateral guiding.

[0046] In step 100, the driver activates the pulling-out function, for example, by turning on the ignition, selecting a parking menu on the display screen in the center console by actuating a parking button, selecting the pulling-out side, and releasing the brake pedal.

[0047] The ego vehicle 1 is located at this point in time in the position shown in FIG. 2a within the longitudinal parking space, which is bounded by the front boundary vehicle 2 and the rear boundary vehicle 3 and laterally by the curbstone 4.

[0048] Based on the information about the vehicle surroundings, the parking assistance system calculates a multi-move pulling-out trajectory. While the pulling-out maneuver is carried out, this pulling-out trajectory is adapted based on updated information about the vehicle surroundings.

[0049] For simplification, it is presumed in FIG. 1 that the automated parking maneuver begins in step 110 with a linear reversing move 10 in parallel to the curbstone 4, wherein the vehicle is moved back until it reaches or falls below a specific threshold value for the distance to the rear vehicle 3. For this purpose, the reverse gear is engaged by the parking assistance system and the vehicle is accelerated and brought to a standstill in front of the rear vehicle.

[0050] Although it is not shown in FIG. 1 for reasons of simplification, it is advantageous if the first move does not necessarily have to be a linear reversing move but rather (in dependence on the distances to the front boundary vehicle 2 and to the rear boundary vehicle 3) instead a steered forward move can be selected as the first move. A steered forward move as the first move is reasonable, for example, if there is a very small distance to the rear vehicle 3 before beginning the parking maneuver, while there is a greater distance to the front vehicle 2.

[0051] In FIG. 2a, the reversing move 10 is illustrated by the path of a vehicle reference point. In this example, the center of the rear axle is used as the vehicle reference point.

[0052] In FIG. 2b, the situation after carrying out the initial reversing move is illustrated.

[0053] The steerable wheels 5a, 5b are now—as already shown in FIG. 2b—fully locked in the direction of the pulling-out side and, after automatically switching the travel direction, a forward move 20 described by the path in FIG. 2b is carried out with full steering lock in the direction of the pulling-out side (see step 120).

[0054] In FIG. 2c, the situation after the end of the forward move 20 is shown.

[0055] During the forward move 20 or immediately after the end of the forward move, it is checked in the query 130 whether the vehicle 1 could leave the longitudinal parking space, after a future linear reversing move, by way of a manual forward move following thereon having full steering lock of the wheels 5a, 5b in the direction of the pulling-out side, i.e., whether the vehicle 1, after a (future) linear reversing move and a full steering lock of the wheels 5a, 5b following thereon, could pass the front vehicle 2 while maintaining a specified safety distance in a forward move carried out manually on the part of the driver. The check thus takes place before the linear reversing move that is possibly carried out.

[0056] If this is the case, after switching the travel direction and straightening out the wheels 5a, 5b, the linear reversing move 30 shown in FIG. 2b is carried out on the part of the parking assistance system (see step 140). In FIG. 2d, the vehicle is shown already in the position after the end of the linear reversing move. During the linear reversing move, the vehicle is moved back until, for example, it reaches or falls below a predetermined threshold value for the distance to the curbstone 4.

[0057] If the result of the check in step 130 is negative, a reversing move is carried out with full steering lock against the direction of the pulling-out side (see step 150 or alternatively step 160). Two cases are distinguished here, as will be explained in the following discussion.

[0058] If it is determined in a check according to step 135 that the parking space could be left, after a future reversing move with full steering lock against the direction of the pulling-out side, in a manual forward move with full steering lock in the direction of the pulling-out side, the reversing move is carried out with full steering lock (see step 150); in this case, this move is the last move of the automated driving maneuver.

[0059] In contrast, if the check according to step 135 has a negative result, after the reversing move having full steering lock is then carried out (see step 160), a further forward move (see step 120) is necessary, which is always followed by a reversing move in the sequence of FIG. 1.

[0060] After ending the linear reversing move according to step 140 or the reversing move according to 150, the wheels are steered into the full steering lock in the direction of the pulling-out side (see step 170), and then the vehicle 1 is transferred to the driver.

[0061] For this purpose, in step 180 a report about the successful ending of the automated parking maneuver is overlaid on the display screen in the cockpit and the vehicle is actively braked to a stop by the parking assistance system so that the vehicle does not roll away. At the same time, the steering is held in the full steering lock to prevent opening/relaxation of the steering. In this state, the driver can take over the guiding of the vehicle with a simple actuation of the accelerator pedal. If it is determined in step 190 that the driver wishes to take over the guiding of the vehicle 1 by actuating the accelerator pedal, the actuation of the accelerator pedal has the result that the braking torque is slowly reduced in order to ensure comfortable starting behavior (see step 200). Furthermore, the steering torque is also reduced in step 200. If the driver does not take over the guiding of the vehicle 1 by actuating the accelerator pedal within the period Δt (for example, Δt=5 seconds), the vehicle is secured by engaging the gear P (see step 210) and the function is ended.

[0062] In the functionality shown in FIG. 1, a reversing move is always carried out as the last pulling-out move, either as a linear reversing move (see step 140) or as a steered reversing move (see step 135).

[0063] It would be conceivable to dispense with the query 135 and, in the event of a negative check result of the query 130, to carry out the reversing move with full steering lock according to step 160. In this case, the last move of the automated pulling out maneuver would always be a linear reversing move (step 150 would be omitted).