Surveying instrument

• US 10,520,307 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2017
• Issued: 12/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Topcon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Topcon Corporation
• Inventors: Ohtomo, Fumio, Kumagai, Kaoru, Anai, Tetsuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Ratcliffe, Luke D
• Application Number:
  US15/421,812
• Publication Number:
  US 20170227357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,063 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/002 Active optical surveying means optical plumbing G01C15/105
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 5/00 Measuring height; Measuring distances transverse to line of sight; Levelling between separated points; Surveyors' levels G01C3/20, G01C3/30 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S17/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4813 Housing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4817 relating to scanning

Abstract

The invention provides a surveying instrument, which comprises a measuring unit for performing a distance measurement by projecting a distance measuring light toward an object to be measured, an image pickup unit for picking up an image including the object to be measured, an attitude detecting unit provided integrally with the image pickup unit, and an arithmetic processing unit, wherein the attitude detecting unit has tilt sensors for detecting a horizontal and a relative tilt angle detecting unit for detecting a tilt angle of the measuring unit with respect to the horizontal, and wherein the arithmetic processing unit calculates a tilting of the image with respect to a vertical based on a detection result of the attitude detecting unit and displays vertical lines in the image acquired by the image pickup unit based on this calculation result.

Claims

1. A surveying instrument comprising:

a measuring unit for performing a distance measurement by projecting a distance measuring light toward an object to be measured and by receiving a reflected distance measuring light from said object to be measured, an image pickup unit having an image pickup optical axis running in parallel to a projection optical axis of said distance measuring light and for picking up an image including said object to be measured, an attitude detecting unit provided integrally with said image pickup unit, and an arithmetic processing unit, wherein said attitude detecting unit has tilt sensors for detecting a horizontal and a relative tilt angle detecting unit for tilting said tilt sensors so that said tilt sensors detect the horizontal and for detecting a tilt angle of said measuring unit with respect to the horizontal in a condition where said tilt sensors detect the horizontal, and wherein said arithmetic processing unit calculates a tilting of said image with respect to a vertical based on a detection result of said attitude detecting unit and displays vertical lines in said image acquired by said image pickup unit based on this calculation result.

2. The surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein said arithmetic processing unit performs an image processing so that said vertical lines shown in said image run in parallel to each other and prepares a vertical image.

3. The surveying instrument according to claim 1, further comprising an optical axis deflecting unit provided on said projection optical axis of said distance measuring light, wherein said distance measuring light is projected to a point as required of said object to be measured by said optical axis deflecting unit, and the distance measurement of said point as required is performed.

4. The surveying instrument according to claim 2, further comprising an optical axis deflecting unit provided on said projection optical axis of said distance measuring light, wherein said arithmetic processing unit extracts a vertical part of said object to be measured, scans said distance measuring light by controlling said optical axis deflecting unit so that said distance measuring light crosses said vertical part, performs the distance measurement of an intersection point crossing said vertical part, and obtains a horizontal distance of said vertical part.

5. The surveying instrument according to claim 4, wherein said arithmetic processing unit extracts a lateral part of said object to be measured, calculates a height of the intersection point of said lateral part and said vertical part based on the horizontal distance of said vertical part, captures said lateral part connecting the intersection points with the same height as a horizontal part of said object to be measured, scans said distance measuring light and performs the distance measurement so that said distance measuring light crosses the point as required of said horizontal part, and obtains the horizontal distance and the height of said object to be measured.

6. The surveying instrument according to claim 5, wherein said arithmetic processing unit prepares a three-dimensional model of said object to be measured based on said vertical part and said horizontal part.

7. The surveying instrument according to claim 2, further comprising an optical axis deflecting unit provided on said projection optical axis of said distance measuring light, wherein said distance measuring light is projected to a point as required of said object to be measured by said optical axis deflecting unit, and the distance measurement of said point as required is performed.