Patent ID: 8130120

Claim:
A parking assistance device comprising: a sensor that detects an object; a guiding unit configured to guide a vehicle to a parking initial position from which the vehicle can be parked in a parking space, the parking space being located adjacent to and on a far side of the object located adjacent to the vehicle, the far side of the object being defined with respect to a running direction of the vehicle; a timing setting unit configured to set a timing to start guiding the vehicle based on a speed of the vehicle; and an obstacle detecting unit configured to detect an obstacle adjacent to the vehicle in response to a reflected wave of a wave emitted from the vehicle in a predetermined direction, wherein, when an obstacle is not detected, in the running direction of the vehicle, in the parking space within a predetermined distance from the object, the guiding unit starts guiding the vehicle, the predetermined distance being a reference length extending from the far side of the object in the running direction of the vehicle, and wherein the timing setting unit adjusts the predetermined distance based on the speed of the vehicle.