Uploading a file to a custom path in codeigniter - php

Question

I'm trying to upload a file but I keep getting a "The upload path does not appear to be valid." error. The problem is the path I'm trying to upload to is in the directory just outside the current one. The current folder structure is as follows:
application
assets
- uploads
- profile_pictures
Admin
- application
- assets
I am attempting to upload a picture from the admin application into the 'assets/uploads/profile_pictures' folder which is in the main application root directory. The only issue is correcting the path.
Here's the code from the Controller:
public function update_image(){
$user_id= $this->input->post('user_id');
//$user_id=$this->input->post('user_id');
$query5 = $this->db->get_where('user_details', array('user_id' => $user_id));
$name_user = $query5->row()->name;
$name='profile_image_edit';
$user_img=$this->function->upload_profile_images(array($name), $name_user);
var_dump($user_img);
$this->db->set("image_path",$user_img);
$this->db->where("user_id",$user_id);
$update = $this->db->update("users");
if($update)
{
echo 'Profile Image Updated.';
}
else
{
echo 'Profile Image Update Failed.';
}
}
And here's the code from the Model:
public function upload_profile_images($names, $username)
{
$config['upload_path']='./assets/uploads/profile_pictures';
$config['allowed_types']='jpeg|jpg|png';
$path = $_FILES[$names[0]]['name'];
var_dump($names[0]);
var_dump($path);
$ste_d =date('YmdHis') . gettimeofday()['usec'];
$newName = str_replace("",'',str_replace("",'',"$ste_d.str_replace(" ",'_',str_replace(".","",pathinfo($path, PATHINFO_FILENAME)))."_muddy.")).pathinfo($path, PATHINFO_EXTENSION);
$config['file_name'] = $username ."_". $newName;
$this->upload->initialize($config);
$this->load->library('upload', $config['upload_path']);
$check = true;
for($i = 0; $i < count($names) && $check; $i++)
{
if ( ! $this->upload->do_upload($names[$i]))
{
$path='./assets/uploads/profile_pictures';
$this->load->helper("file");
$error = array('error' => $this->upload->display_errors());
var_dump($error);
// delete_files($path, true);
$check = false;
return false;
}
else
{
$data = array('upload_data' => $this->upload->data());
$check = true;
return 'assets/uploads/profile_pictures'.'/'.$data['upload_data']['file_name'];
}
}
}
How do I set a custom path so the file is always saved in the desired directory of assets/uploads/profile_pictures from the Admin application. Thanks for any help!