Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki

Hisashi Kuriya

Kazunori Shimazaki

Isao Suzuki

Masahiko Ando

Tomio Kimura

Koji Hika

Satoshi Yamada

Goro Asahi

Kousuke Teramura

Shigeru Suzuki

Kunifumi Goto

Kazuo Ishikawa

Shunichi Shibasaki

Yoshitaka Kouketsu

Takashi Endo

Masashi Ushino

Tomohiro Uda

Kanji Hattori

Kazushi Fujii

A steering assist apparatus that assists a driver when backing a vehicle in an S-shaped path or parallel parking. The apparatus displays guidance marking on a monitor screen and the driver refers to the guidance marking, which permits the driver to easily back the vehicle to a desired position. The apparatus includes a camera, a monitor, an angle sensor, obstacle sensors, an image processing unit, a controller and a monitor controller. The image processing unit computes the predicted path of the vehicle at the current wheel angle. The monitor shows an image captured by the camera. The image processing unit generates data representing a guidance marking based on the predicted path and superimposes the marking on the monitor screen. The location of the marking on the screen is determined based on the current wheel angle. The marking represents part of the predicted path. Specifically, the marking matches the width of the vehicle. In the monitor screen, a marking is separated from the rear bumper of the vehicle by a distance corresponding to the wheelbase of the vehicle.

Apparatus for assisting steering of vehicle when backing

An image transformation apparatus for a vehicle rear monitoring device uses a transformation table to transform an image of the rear of a vehicle captured by a camera mounted on the vehicle for capturing the rear of the vehicle into an output image assumed to be obtained by capturing the rear at a predetermined inclination from a virtual camera position different from an actual camera position at which the camera is mounted, and displays the output image on the monitor. Furthermore, the output image may be displayed on the monitor, with a steering start guideline, a steering amount guide mark, a vehicle width guideline, and a vehicle path guideline superimposed thereon.

Image conversion device for vehicle rearward-monitoring device

When a vehicle is located in a predetermined position M, a steering amount guide mark is moved on a steering start guide line as a steering angle is increased by turning a steering wheel. The steering amount guide mark has a size according to the steering angle of the steering wheel at that time. When the steering angle becomes suitable, the steering amount guide mark has the same size as a target parking space T. Thus, a driver can more instinctively recognize the suitable steering angle of the steering wheel. Further, the driver can easily judge by observing the locus line of a left-hand forward corner portion of the vehicle whether or not the left-hand forward corner portion of the self-vehicle that particularly needed to be known in column parking on the left-hand side of a road interferes with a certain obstacle during a path until the target parking space T.

Arrangement for guiding steering to assist parallel parking

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle backward movement assisting apparatus during parking, in which a steering assisting guide display is performed so that a driver can easily comprehend a steering rate and time frame, a steering amount or a backward movement amount in parking a vehicle. When a vehicle starts a turn, a detecting means of a rotation speed difference between a right wheel and a left wheel detects a rotation speed difference between a right wheel and a left wheel. When the difference becomes the predetermined value or larger, it is recognized that the vehicle starts the turn. The angle speed, which is detected by a yaw rate sensor since the start of the turn, is added as a yaw angle. Then, the vehicle is stopped and a shift lever is operated so as to be set to a backward movement position, whereby the yaw angle at this time is detected as the turn angle since the time of starting the turn. An image processor displays a parallel parking guide line and a vehicle space mark so as to be inclined on the screen of a monitor based on the turn angle.

Vehicle backing support apparatus

In a vehicle backward movement assisting apparatus for in-line parking, at a stop position of a vehicle, a seesaw switch is manipulated until an in-line guide line is superimposed on a target point which is a corner of a frame of a parking space, and a steering wheel is turned until the vehicle space mark is superimposed on the parking space, and the vehicle is moved backward while the steering angle of the steering wheel is held. When an eye mark is superimposed on the parking space, the vehicle is stopped, and the steering angle of the steering wheel is made maximum and the vehicle is moved backward, to thereby complete the in-line parking at the parking space.

Vehicle backward movement assisting apparatus for in-line parking

A steering assist apparatus includes a camera for picking up the rear side of a vehicle, a monitor disposed in a driver's compartment of the vehicle, a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of a steering wheel, and a display controlling unit for displaying on the monitor an image through said camera when the vehicle reverses and for superimposing and displaying on said monitor a guide display for assisting the drive of the vehicle when the vehicle is to be parked. The guide display includes a steering start guide line fixedly displayed in a predetermined position of an image field of the monitor for guiding a steering start position for parking, and a steering amount guide mark moved and displayed along the steering start guide line on the image field of the monitor in correspondence with a steering angle of the steering wheel detected by the steering angle sensor. The driver performs the steering operation of the vehicle while recognizing the position for the opposite turning of the steering wheel and the steering amount and the steering start position for parking on the basis of the image on the rear side of the vehicle and the steering amount guide mark and the steering start guide line.

Steering assist apparatus for traveling in reverse

Steering assist apparatus displays vehicle locus guide lines used to assist the steering wheel handling during parking on a monitor screen in which the rear side of a vehicle is image-picked up. The vehicle locus guide lines include a basic length part which links points B B B and B and an extension length part which links the points B E E and B and a middle point EM, and the curved amount and the extension amount of extension length part are determined in accordance with a steering angle. In addition, the extension length part is divided into stages in order to be recognized, and the extension length part is shortened one stage by one stage as a vehicle comes nearer a target parking space.

Steering assist apparatus

An attitude control apparatus, for a vehicle having a body and a plurality of wheels, has an actuator operated by a fluid for expanding each suspension of the vehicle to control the stroke of each wheel. A first detecting device detects a variation of incline of the body of the vehicle when the body inclines from a horizontal position. A second detecting device detects the vertical position of each wheel relative to the body. A third detecting device detects the load applied to each wheel. A first control device controls the volume and direction of the fluid to be supplied to the actuator. A calculating device calculates the vertical displacement of each wheel, the current average height of the body, and the variation of the load on the wheel based on the variation of the inclined angle of the body, the vertical position of each wheel, and the load on each wheel. A setting device sets a target value for the average height. A second control device controls the actuator via the first control device in response to results calculated by the calculating device to cause the current average height to approach the target value and to cause the variation of the load on each wheel to approach substantially zero.

Vehicle attitude and average height control apparatus

Disclosed is a swash plate type variable displacement pump. The pump comprises a spring which biases a swash plate in a direction of decreasing the tilting angle thereof, a hydraulic cylinder which controls the swash plate at the tilt angle according to a load on the pump by the resisting force against the biasing force of the spring, a valve allows a pressurized fluid to flow into the hydraulic cylinder when opened, and prevents the pressurized fluid from coming out of the hydraulic cylinder when closed, and a fluid discharge passage which gradually releases the resisting force of the hydraulic cylinder against the spring to slowly shift the tilt angle of the swash plate to 0.degree..

Growing community of inventors

Aichi-ken, Japan

Hisashi Kuriya