Abstract: Time of flight (TOF) measurement accuracy is the core support of the performance of pulsed laser rangefinder, and its technical breakthrough is of key significance for high-precision compensation and intelligent anti-jamming capability upgrade in high-end manufacturing, autonomous driving and unmanned aerial vehicles, aerospace and national defense, smart cities and infrastructure. Focusing on the core dimension of time-of-flight measurement, this paper, through the analysis of patent information, reveals the correlation law between patent layout and industrial competition pattern, clarifies the industrial status, technical trends and competition pattern of TOF ranging error resolution, and analyzes the technical bottleneck in this field, which provides direction guidance for the iteration of time-of-flight TOF measurement technology and the cracking of ranging error. The related technical literature of TOF ranging error of time of flight was retrieved from patent database, and the solution was decomposed into three branches: signal processing dimension (focusing on the precise calculation logic of time of flight),ranging device dimension (supporting the hardware carrier design of time of flight measurement), and ranging signal dimension (signal source innovation related to time of flight measurement).By quantitatively analyzing the evolution of patent applications, the evolution path of branch technology, the distribution characteristics of applicant countries and the core technology clusters, the technical research thread of TOF measurement of flight time is systematically dismantled. It is found that the current research focuses on the signal processing technology related to TOF calculation, but the hardware base (ranging device) and signal source (ranging signal) of TOF measurement are not invested enough. In order to break through the performance bottleneck and competition barrier of laser ranging technology, it is necessary to strengthen the research investment in the field of ranging devices and ranging signals, tap its innovative potential in technical principles, design methods and manufacturing processes, and promote the systematic breakthrough of the whole chain technology of measurement of time of flight.

Key words: Laser Ranging; Measurement Error; Patent; Time of Flight; TOF