US 10,703,411 B2Granted

Configurable parking assistance device and method

OwnerAllen J Ho, Lana J Hoinventors

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Abstract

An apparatus and method for assisting a vehicle into a desired position within a parking space. The device uses non-uniform light strength light line or other pattern projection to generate highlighted projections onto a target at a vehicle dashboard. The user may form a strong projection by focusing multi laser projections to overlap each other at the target. The driver knows the location of the vehicle by memorizing the patterns along the projections relative to the locations in the parking space. The driver maneuvers the vehicle direction and speed in order to make the projections onto the target, to avoid hitting the garage door frame, and to park on a desired position inside the parking space. The devices can be used for both guiding the vehicle into the parking space at a predetermined path to avoid nearby objects and stopping the vehicle at the desired place and direction.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A parking aid apparatus for guiding a vehicle into a desired parking position through a predetermined parking pass location, comprising:

a housing for mounting to a structure;
one or a plurality of light sources mounted in said housing and producing light pattern projections with each said light source passing through a single lens to form a visible pattern or short light line along at least one of said parking pass location and the parking position, where the pattern includes a non-uniform line or predetermined shape;
each of said light source including means for independently adjusting a position of said light source relative to said housing by moving the said light source at a horizontal angle and a vertical angle to the housing so as to adjust said light projection onto a selectable location of said vehicle when said vehicle is in at least one of said predetermined parking pass location and the parking position;
each of said light source including means of independently rotating each of said light source relative to said housing so that said light projection impinges on at least one of said parking pass location and the parking position of said vehicle at a selectable angle to said predetermined vehicle parking moving direction;
and
an electrical source powers said light sources, wherein
the pattern is directed exclusively at a predetermined location within the vehicle when the vehicle is positioned properly in at least one of the predetermined parking pass location and the parking position.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/871,988Filed 16 Jan 2018
Published: US 2019/0217890 A118 Jul 2019
Granted: 7 Jul 2020
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

B62D 15/028
Parking aids, e.g. instruction means: guided parking by providing commands to the driver, e.g. acoustically or optically
B60Q 1/00
Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof
E04H 6/426
Devices or arrangements peculiar to garages, not covered elsewhere, e.g. securing devices, safety devices , monitoring and operating schemes;…:…
G08G 1/168
Anti-collision systems: driving aids for parking, e.g. acoustic or visual feedback on parking space