# US 10,501,077 B2 · Inter-vehicle distance estimation method and inter-vehicle distance estimation device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,501,077 B2 - Document ID: US10501077B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/307,278 - Filed: 2016-06-14 - Published: 2019-09-12 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2016-06-14 - Assignees: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Kuniaki Noda; Fang Fang - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10501077B2 ## CPC - G01S 13/931: of land vehicles - H04N 7/183: {for receiving images from a single remote source} - G06F 18/22: Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures - G06V 20/58: Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads - G08G 1/00: Traffic control systems for road vehicles (arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 {; automatic vehicle control B62D}) - G08G 1/01: Detecting movement of traffic to be counted or controlled (G08G1/07 - G08G1/14 take precedence) - G08G 1/0112: {from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]} - G08G 1/0133: {for classifying traffic situation} - G08G 1/04: using optical or ultrasonic detectors - G08G 1/052: with provision for determining speed or overspeed {(speed measuring in general G01P)} - H04N 7/18: Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast - B60W 2420/403: Image sensing, e.g. optical camera - B60W 2554/4041: Position - B60W 2554/804: Relative longitudinal speed - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT ## Abstract An inter-vehicle distance estimation method includes: estimating a screened area screened by an obstacle from a sensor and two unscreened areas sandwiching the screened area; and, based on speeds of two tracked vehicles traveling in a same traffic lane respectively within the two unscreened areas, estimating the inter-vehicle distances from the two tracked vehicles to a tracked vehicle traveling in the same traffic lane within the screened area. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An inter-vehicle distance estimation method using a sensor that detects positional information of objects around a vehicle, and a processing circuit that estimates inter-vehicle distances between a plurality of tracked vehicles detected based on the positional information, comprising: causing the processing circuit to estimate a screened area screened by an obstacle from the sensor and two unscreened areas sandwiching the screened area; and causing the processing circuit to, based on speeds of two of the tracked vehicles traveling in a same traffic lane respectively within the two unscreened areas, estimate the inter-vehicle distances from the two tracked vehicles to one of the tracked vehicles traveling in the same traffic lane within the screened area. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The inter-vehicle distance estimation method according to claim 1, further comprising: causing the processing circuit to estimate a speed of the tracked vehicle traveling in the same traffic lane within the screened area; and causing the processing circuit to estimate the inter-vehicle distances based on the estimated speed of the tracked vehicle. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The inter-vehicle distance estimation method according to claim 1, further comprising: causing the processing circuit to estimate, in map data, a travel area in which the plurality of tracked vehicles travel; and causing the processing circuit to estimate the two unscreened areas within the travel area. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The inter-vehicle distance estimation method according to claim 1, further comprising: causing the sensor to detect at least either shapes or colors of the tracked vehicles; and causing the processing circuit to track the tracked vehicles based on the at least either the shapes or the colors of the tracked vehicles. ### Claim 5 An inter-vehicle distance estimation device comprising: a sensor that detects positional information of objects around a vehicle; and a processing circuit that estimates inter-vehicle distances between a plurality of tracked vehicles detected based on the positional information, wherein the processing circuit estimates a screened area screened by an obstacle from the sensor and two unscreened areas sandwiching the screened area, based on speeds of two of the tracked vehicles traveling respectively within the two unscreened areas, the processing circuit estimates a speed of one of the tracked vehicles traveling within the screened area, and based on the estimated speed of the tracked vehicle, the processing circuit estimates the inter-vehicle distances between the plurality of tracked vehicles.