Patent Description:
With accelerated integration of electronics, information, communication and other technologies with the automobile industry, automobiles are also developing towardsatrend of intelligence and networking. With the development of automobiles, many automobiles can realize automatic parking. However, in terms of automatic parking on the market, after an automobile identifies a parking space, full-automatic parking can be completed using an automobile key, without manual intervention. A driver can choose to get off the automobile in advance, which saves parking time. However, convenience brought by automatic parking may also be accompanied by some safety issues.

<CIT> discloses methods and systems for automatically controlling a vehicle. <CIT> discloses an apparatus and a method for assisting remote parking. <CIT> discloses a vehicle control system and vehicle control device. <CIT> shows in particular a parking control method, applied in a vehicle, with the steps of: receiving a parking request transmitted by a control device in an one-way short-range wireless communication manner; establishing, after receiving the parking request, a short-range wireless communication connection with the control device; monitoring a current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection, in a process of performing a parking operation on the vehicle based on the parking request; and stopping performing the parking operation, when it is monitored that the current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection is disconnection.

In view of the above, an object of embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a parking control method and apparatus, and a vehicle.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a parking control methodapplied in a vehicle. The method includes: receiving a parking request transmitted by a control device in a one-way short-range wireless communication manner of a first short-range wireless communication technology;establishing, after receiving the parking request, a short-range wireless communication connection of a second short-range wireless communication technology with the control device, the second short-range wireless communication technology being different from the first short-range wireless communication technology; monitoring a current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection, in a process of performing a parking operation on the vehicle based on the parking request; and stopping performing the parking operation, when it is monitored that the current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection is disconnection.

In at least one embodiment, the method further includes performing the parking operation until parking is completed, when it is monitored that the current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection is connection.

In at least one embodiment, said establishing, after receiving the parking request, the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device includes:transmitting, after receiving the parking request, a short-range wireless communication connection request to the control device; andestablishing, after receiving a connection response from the control device, the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device.

In at least one embodiment, said establishing after receiving the parking request, the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device includes establishing, by a first electronic control unit, the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device. Said monitoring the current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection includes:transmitting, by the first electronic control unit, the current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection between the first electronic control unit and the control device to a second electronic control unit based on a preset rule; andobtaining, by the second electronic control unit, a connection state of the established short-range wireless communication connection with the control device based on a received current state.

In at least one embodiment, the method further includestransmitting, when it is monitored that the current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection is the disconnection, a notification message indicating connection interruption to a designated communication account to notify a relevant user that parking is interrupted.

In at least one embodiment, the method further includestransmitting, after completion of parking, a notification message indicating parking completion to a designated communication account.

In at least one embodiment, the method further includestransmitting a current parking state to a server for the server to transmit the current parking state to a designated application account.

In at least one embodiment, the method further includes, prior to performing the parking operation on the vehicle based on the parking request, identifying a current environment where the vehicle is located, to determine whether there is a parking space meeting a condition in the current environment. When there is a parking space meeting the condition in the current environment, the parking operation is performed on the vehicle based on the parking request.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a parking control apparatusapplied in a vehicle. The apparatus includes: a receiving module configured to receive a parking request transmitted by a control device in a one-way short-range wireless communication manner of a first short-range wireless communication technology; an establishing module configured to establish, after receiving the parking request, a short-range wireless communication connection of a second short-range wireless communication technology with the control device, the second short-range wireless communication technology being different from the first short-range wireless communication technology; a monitoring module configured to monitor a current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection, in a process of performing a parking operation on the vehicle based on the parking request; and a control module configured to stop performing the parking operation, when it is monitored that the current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection is disconnection.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a vehicle. The vehicle includes a memory and an electronic control unit. The memory is configured to store a computer program. The electronic control unit is configured to read and run the computer program from the memory to perform the above method.

In order to make the above objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure more apparent and readily appreciated, detailed description is made below by citing the following embodiments described in combination with the accompanying drawings.

In order to clearly explain technical solutions of embodiments of the present disclosure, drawings used inembodiments are briefly described below. It should be understood that the drawings as described below merely illustrate some embodiments of the present disclosure, and thus should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Based on these drawings, other related drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort.

Technical solutions in embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below in combination with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the embodiments described here are merely part of the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not all embodiments of the present disclosure. Generally, components in the embodiments of the present disclosure described and illustrated in the drawings herein may be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present disclosure. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor are within the scope of the present disclosure, which is defined by the appended claims.

It is to be noted that similar reference numerals and letters represent similar items in the following figures. Therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, the item does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures. Also, in the description of the present disclosure, terms "first", "second", etc., are merely used for distinguishing and description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

The popularization of vehicle automation has brought convenience to users' lives. However, there are also certain safety risks. That is, when a user is away from a vehicle by a certain distance, and there is an unidentifiable object, the vehicle, due to limitations of an ultrasonic radar, may collide with an undetectable obstacle, resulting in vehicle damage or casualties.

Therefore, the safety of automatic parking in the related art needs to be further improved. In order to solve this problem, the inventor of the present disclosure has conducted research on parking a vehicle by means of a two-way communication scheme. Detailed description will be given below through several embodiments.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating interaction between a vehicle and a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, a vehicle <NUM> and a control device <NUM> are illustrated. The control device <NUM> may perform one-way communication with the vehicle <NUM> in a radio frequency manner, and may also perform two-way communication with the vehicle <NUM> in a short-range wireless communication manner. The control device <NUM> in this embodiment may be a vehicle key.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the vehicle in an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of Electronic control units <NUM> (ECUs for short).

The plurality of ECUs communicates with each other through aController Area Network (CAN) bus <NUM>.

The ECU may include a microprocessor (CPU), a memory (ROM,RAM), an Input/Output(I/O) interface, an Analog-to-Digital (A/D) converter, and a large-scale integrated circuitsuch as a shaping circuit and a driving circuit.

The memory may be, but is not limited to, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), an Electric Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), etc. The memory is used to store a program. The microprocessor executes the program after receiving an execution instruction. Steps to be executed by the vehicle <NUM> defined ina processdisclosed in any embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied in the microprocessor, or implemented by the microprocessor.

The microprocessor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capability.

Furthermore, the vehicle <NUM> may also include a radar <NUM>. The radar <NUM> may include a front parking radar and a reversing radar.

The front parking radar may include a front controller, a sensor, and an indicator. The front parking radar applies the principle of ultrasonic ranging. The controller controls the sensor to emit an ultrasonic signal. When the ultrasonic signal encounteran obstacle, an echo signal is generated. After the sensor receives the echo signal, calculation is performed by the front controller, and processing and determination are performed. A display displaysa distance, an orientation, a region and other information of a nearest obstacle. A buzzer (or a horn) sends out a corresponding warning sound when appropriate.

The reversing radar may include an ultrasonic sensor, a rear controller, and a display or a buzzer. When reversing the vehicle, the reversing radar applies the principle of ultrasonics. Ultrasonic waves aretransmitted by the ultrasonic sensor mounted on a bumper at the rear of the vehicle. After hitting an obstacle, the ultrasonic sound waves are reflected. The rear controller calculates an actual distance between a body of the vehicle and the obstacle, and outputs a prompt message. The prompt message can be a text message displayed on the display, or a sound message output from the buzzer.

Each ECU on the vehicle is used to deal with a type of problem on the vehicle. For example, the vehicle may include a first ECUconfigured to respondto an instruction transmitted by the vehicle key. For another example, the vehicle may include a second ECU configured to execute an instructionrequired for a parking operation.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating interaction between a vehicle and a control device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The interactive environment diagram illustrated in <FIG> is similar to that illustrated in <FIG>. A difference between the interactive environment diagrams illustrated in <FIG> is that the control device illustrated in <FIG> communicates with the vehicle in a two-way communication manner. The control device <NUM> in this embodiment may be a vehicle key, a tablet computer, a smart phone, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA), and the like.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a parking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The parking control method according to this embodiment is applied in a vehicle. A specific process illustrated in <FIG> will be described in detail below.

At block S301, a parking request transmitted by a control device is received.

In an embodiment, the control device may be a vehicle key, amobile terminal of the user, or other devices.

In an embodiment, a plurality of control buttons may be provided on the vehicle key. The plurality of control buttons include a parking button. When the parking button is pressed, the vehicle key transmits a parking request to the vehicle.

In another embodiment, an application for controlling the vehicle may be installed on the mobile terminal. When the application uses an account associated with a target vehicle to log in, the application can transmit some vehicle control requests to the target vehicle. A control interface of the application may include a button for controlling parking. After receiving a trigger operation on the button for controlling parking, the mobile terminal may transmit the parking request to the vehicle. Further, a main control interface of the aboveapplication may also include buttons for, for example, starting a wiper, opening a door, openinga window, and adjustingseat back.

In an embodiment, the control device may transmit the parking request to the vehicle in a one-way communication manner, and may also transmitthe parking request to the vehicle in a two-way short-range communication manner.

The one-way communication manner may be a radio frequency manner. The two-way short-range wireless communication manner can be Bluetooth technology, Wi-Fi technology, ZigBee technology, IrDA technology, NFC technology, and UWB technology.

At block S302, a short-range wireless communication connection with the control device is established.

The control device is a mobile device held by the user, and thusthe short-range wireless communication manner can ensure that a distance between the control device and the vehicle is within a limited range. Therefore, a distance between the user and the vehicle can be kept withinthelimited range, preventing the userfrom being away from the vehicle.

Further, steps in this embodiment are not limited to the sequence illustrated in <FIG>. In some cases, sequences of individual steps can also be exchanged.

In an embodiment, if the parking request is transmitted in a two-way short-range wireless communication manner, step S302 may be performed before step S301.

In another embodiment, if the parking request is transmitted in a one-way short-range communication manner, step S301 is performed before step S302.

Specifically, step S302 includes:transmitting, after receiving the parking request, a short-range wireless communication connection request to the control device; andestablishing, after receiving a connection response from the control device, the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device.

At block S303, a current state of the short-range wireless communication connection is monitored, in a process of performing a parking operation on the vehicle based on the parking request.

In an embodiment, a current state of the short-range wireless communication connectionwith the control device can be obtained based on a preset rule. For example, the current state of the short-range wireless communication connection can be obtained in real time, or the current state of the short-range wireless communication connection can be obtained based on a preset frequency. The preset obtaining frequency can be once every <NUM> milliseconds, once every <NUM> milliseconds, or once every <NUM> milliseconds. Specifically, different rules can be selected based on different types of vehicles. In one example, if the vehicle is a truck that takes much time to park, a low preset frequency such as once every <NUM> millisecondscan be set. In another example, if the vehicle is a car that takes little time to park, a high preset frequency such as once every <NUM> milliseconds can be set.

By obtaining the current state of the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device in real time, it can be effectively determined at any time whether a distance to the control device is within the limited range. By setting an appropriate frequency adequate for identifying a connection state between the vehicle and the control device, the work loadon the ECUs of the vehicle can also be reduced.

Different functions for controlling the vehicle are implemented by different ECUs. Based ona structure of the abovevehicle, an ECUmay receive the parking request from the control device, and another ECUmay perform the parking operation.

In an embodiment, step S302 includesestablishing, by the first ECU, the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device.

Monitoring the current state of the short-range wireless communication connection includes:transmitting, by the first ECU, the current state of the short-range wireless communication connection between the first ECU and the control device to a second ECU based on a preset rule; andobtaining, by the second ECU, a connection state of the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device based on a received current state.

In an embodiment, the first ECU may transmit, based on a preset rule, a current state of the short-range wireless communication connection of the first ECU with the control device to the second ECU. For example, the current state of the short-range wireless communication connection can be transmitted in real time, or the current state of the short-range wireless communication connection can be transmitted based on a preset frequency. The preset obtaining frequency can be once every <NUM> milliseconds, once every <NUM> milliseconds, or once every <NUM> milliseconds. Specifically, different rules can be selected based on different types of vehicles. In one example, if the vehicle is a truck that takes much time to park, a low preset frequency such as once every <NUM> milliseconds can be set. In another example, if the vehicle is a car that takes little time to park, a high preset frequency such as once every <NUM> milliseconds can be set.

The first ECU according to this embodiment is configured to communicate with the control device and receive a vehicle control request transmitted by the control device. The second ECU is configured to control and manage a related device that needs to be used for parking, so as to realize effective parking. Specifically, the second ECU can activate the front parking radar and the reversing radar to detect a surrounding environment of the vehicle.

In an embodiment, the parking control method further includes, prior to performing the parking operation on the vehicle based on the parking request, identifying a current environment where the vehicle is located, to determine whether there is a parking space meeting a condition in the current environment. When there is a parking space meeting the condition in the current environment, the parking operation is performed on the vehicle based on the parking request.

Parking can be realized more accurately through identification of a parking space.

At block S304, when it is monitored that the current state is disconnection, the parking operation is stopped.

If the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device is the disconnection, it means that the user may be far away from the vehicle. Continuing parking may cause collision with some obstacles that the vehicle cannot identify. Therefore, the parking operation is interrupted.

When the user needs to use automatic parking, the distance between the user and the vehicle is ensured by using short-range wireless communication, thereby not only freeing the user'hands fromparking operations, but also improving the safety of the vehicle. Performing the parking operation only when the user is within a safe distancecan avoid a danger of excessive parking of the vehicle. By introducing a two-way communication mechanism, a corresponding state is transmitted to an intelligent driving module after the two-way communication is disconnected, thereby avoiding a potential riskthat may occur after the user leaves the car, and reducing a parking risk for the user.

At block S305, when it is monitored that the current state is connection, the parking operation is performed until parking is completed.

By maintaining the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device, the distance to the control device can be maintained well. Also, it can be determined whether the distance to the control device is within an effective distance range through the connection or the disconnection of the short-range wireless communications with the control device.

In order to facilitate the user to know the parking state even if the user is not around the vehicle, a step of transmitting a notification message to a relevant user can be added on a basis of <FIG>.

The parking control method according to an embodiment may further includetransmitting, when it is monitored that the current state is the disconnection, a notification message indicating connection interruption to a designated communication account to notify a relevant user that parking is interrupted.

The parking control method according to an embodiment may further includetransmitting, after completion of parking, a notification message indicating parking completion to a designated communication account.

The above communication account may be a mobile phone number of the relevant user of the vehicle that is performing the parking operation, or may be other instant messaging accounts of the relevant user, such as DingTalk, WeChat, QQ, and the like.

Further, the display on the vehicle can receive operations from the user to realize binding and association with a communication account.

By transmitting a message to the communication account of the relevant user of the vehicle performing the parking operation, the user can be informed of the parking state in time, and thus the user can take measures based on the parking state to improve parking safety.

With the popularization of smart phones, various applications are also integrated into people's lives. For this consideration, in order to facilitate the user to manage the vehicle through an application, the vehicle can transmit the parking state to a server. The server pushes the parking state to the application, such that the application can display the parking state.

The parking control method according to an embodiment may further includetransmitting a current parking state to a server for the server to transmit the current parking state to a designated application account.

In an embodiment, a mobile terminal used by the user corresponding to the vehicle performing the parking operation may be installed with an application for managing the vehicle. The application can have a setting unit for receiving an associated vehicle set by the user. For example, association with the vehicle may be realized through information such as an identification number of the vehicle and a license plate number of the vehicle. Thedesignated application account may be an account for the application.

The following describes a whole parking process in a scene in detail.

When the vehicle identifies a parking space, the user presses the parking button on the vehicle key. Communication with the firstECU (ECU1) is performed through the radio frequency manner. After the ECU1 receives the parking request from the vehicle key, a Bluetooth module of the ECU1 initiates Bluetooth connection and pairing with the vehicle key. After the pairing is completed, the ECU1 transmitsa Bluetooth connection state to the second ECU (the intelligent driving ECU) through the CAN bus. The intelligent driving ECU can then control various devices required for parking to perform the parking operation. Through the above operations, after the user moves out of the preset range (the limited range that can maintain the Bluetooth connection), the Bluetooth module of the ECU1 is disconnected from the Bluetooth of the vehicle key, and the ECU1 transmitsadisconnection state to the intelligent driving ECU. The intelligent driving ECU stops control, and the parking system is suspended, thereby avoiding some security risks.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating functional modules of a parking control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Individual modules in the parking control apparatus according to this embodiment are used to execute steps in the above method embodiments. The parking control apparatus includes a receiving module <NUM>, an establishing module <NUM>, a monitoring module <NUM>, and a control module <NUM>.

The receiving module 401is configured to receive a parking request transmitted by a control device.

The establishing module <NUM> is configured to establish a short-range wireless communication connection with the control device.

The monitoring module <NUM> is configured to monitor a current state of the short-range wireless communication connection, in a process of performing a parking operation on the vehicle based on the parking request.

The control module <NUM> is configured to stop performing the parking operation, when it is monitored that the current state is disconnection.

The control module <NUM> is configured to performthe parking operation until parking is completed, when it is monitored that the current state is connection.

In an embodiment, the establishing module <NUM> is further configured totransmit, after receiving the parking request, a short-range wireless communication connection request to the control device; andestablish, after receiving a connection response from the control device, the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device.

In an embodiment, the establishing module <NUM> is further configured toestablish, by a first electronic control unit, the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device.

The monitoring module <NUM> is further configured totransmit, by the first electronic control unit, the current state of the short-range wireless communication connection between the first electronic control unit and the control device to a second electronic control unit based on a preset rule; andobtain, by the second electronic control unit, a connection state of the short-range wireless communication connection with the control device based on a received current state.

In an embodiment, the parking control apparatus further includes a first transmitting module. The first transmitting module is configured to transmit, when it is monitored that the current state is the disconnection, a notification message indicating connection interruption to a designated communication account to notify a relevant user that parking is interrupted.

In an embodiment, the first transmitting module is further configured to transmit, after completion of parking, a notification message indicating parking completion to a designated communication account.

In an embodiment, the apparatus further includes a second transmitting module. The second transmitting module is configured to transmita current parking state to a server for the server to transmit the current parking state to a designated application account.

In an embodiment, the apparatus further includes an identification module. The identification module is configured to, prior to performing the parking operation on the vehicle based on the parking request, identifya current environment where the vehicle is located, to determine whether there is a parking space meeting a condition in the current environment. When there is a parking space meeting the condition in the current environment, the parking operation is performed on the vehicle based on the parking request.

For other details of this embodiment, reference may be made to the description of the above method embodiments, and details thereof will be omitted here.

With the parking control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the current state of the short-range wireless communication connection is monitored, in the process of performing the parking operation on the vehicle based on the parking request. Only when the current state is disconnection, the parking operation is stopped, thereby avoiding some safety problems in a parking process caused by excessive parking.

It should be understood that the method and the apparatus disclosed in several embodiments provided by the present disclosure can also be realized in other manners. The apparatus embodiments described above are merely exemplary. For example, the flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures show architectures, functions, and operations of possible implementations of the method, the apparatus, and the computer program productaccording to several embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagram can represent a module, a program segment, or a part of code. The module, the program segment or the part of the code includes one or more executable instructions for realizing a specified logic function. It is also to be noted that in some alternative implementations, functions marked in blocks may also occur in a different sequence from that marked in the figures. For example, two consecutive blocks can actually be executed substantially in parallel, or can sometimes be executed in a reverse order, depending on functions involved. It is also to be noted that each block in a block diagram and/or flowchart, and a combination of blocks in the block diagram and/or flowchart can be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based system that performs specified functions or actions, or can be implemented by a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

In addition, individual functional modules in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be integrated into a single part, or can be present as separate modules. It is also possible that two or more modules are integrated into a single part.

If the functions are realized in the form of functional software modules and are sold or used as an independent product, they can be stored in a storage mediumreadable by a computer. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present disclosure in essence(that is, a part of the technical solutions that contributes to the related art) or parts of the technical solutions of the present disclosure can be embodied in a form of a software product. The software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions used for causing a computer device (for example, a personal computer, a server or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of operations in the apparatus described in individual embodiments of the present disclosure. The above storage medium may be any medium capable of storing program codes, including a USB flash disk, a mobile hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a floppy disc, or an optical disc. It is to be noted that in the present disclosure, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply that entities or operations have any such actual relationship or order. In addition, terms "include", "comprise" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, an apparatus, an article, or a device that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements that are not explicitly listed or inherent to the process, the apparatus, the article, or the device. Without more restrictions, an element defined by an expression "including a. " does not exclude an existence of other identical elements in the process, the apparatus, the article, or the device that includes the elements.

The above description illustrates only preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and is not used to limit the present disclosure. For those skilled in the art, the present disclosure can have various modifications and changes. It is to be noted that similar reference numerals and letters indicate similar items in the following figures. Therefore, once a certain item is defined in one figure, the item does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

Claim 1:
A parking control method, applied in a vehicle (<NUM>), the method characterized by:
receiving (S301) a parking request transmitted by a control device (<NUM>) in a one-way short-range wireless communication manner of a first short-range wireless communication technology;
establishing (S302), after receiving the parking request, a short-range wireless communication connection of a second short-range wireless communication technology with the control device (<NUM>), wherein the second short-range wireless communication technology is different from the first short-range wireless communication technology;
monitoring (S303) a current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection, in a process of performing a parking operation on the vehicle (<NUM>) based on the parking request; and
stopping (S304) performing the parking operation, when it is monitored that the current state of the established short-range wireless communication connection is disconnection.