The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 23, 1999
Filed:
Aug. 08, 1997
Takehide Hirabayashi, Tokyo, JP;
Hideo Shimizu, Tokyo, JP;
Taichi Tanigawa, Tokyo, JP;
Akihiko Okabe, Tokyo, JP;
Takayuki Usuda, Tokyo, JP;
Fuji Electric Co., Ltd., Kawasaki, JP;
Abstract
An inter-vehicle distance to a preceding or following vehicle is reliably determined by using a simple processing, to alert the following vehicle to approach a dangerous range. The distance measurement apparatus includes a pair of light-receiving devices disposed on image-forming surfaces of lenses and having sensor lines and measurement windows on each sensor line at a certain interval, a distance detection device, a white line detection device and a vehicle detection device. The distance detection device detects distances at points, the coordinates of which are specified by the sensor line numbers and measurement window addresses. By using the detection results, the white line detection device detects a sensor line in which a white line on a road surface is present. By using the detection results obtained from the distance detection device relating to the sensor lines in which the white line is not present, the vehicle detection device checks a presence of a vehicle and outputs information on the inter-vehicle distance and the direction of the vehicle. The following vehicle may be alerted by flashing the brake lights.