Method and apparatus for applying an architectural layout to a building construction surface

• US 10,579,746 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2017
• Issued: 03/03/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jz Companies, JZ Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: JZ Technologies LLC
• Inventors: Samuelson, Jeffrey, Buck, Joshua W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lhymn, Sarah
• Application Number:
  US15/472,057
• Publication Number:
  US 20170280114A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 345418, 345619, 345632, 345633
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/002 Active optical surveying means optical plumbing G01C15/105
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/13 Architectural design, e.g. computer-aided architectural design [CAAD] related to design of buildings, bridges, landscapes, production plants or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/14 Transformations for image registration, e.g. adjusting or mapping for alignment of images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3161 using laser light sources using laser beams scanning the display screen H04N9/3129
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3185 Geometric adjustment, e.g. keystone or convergence optical or mechanical adjustment of convergence H04N9/317; using scanning means H04N3/22; optical or mechanical adjustments of projectors not peculiar to the presence of an electronic spatial light modulator G03B21/14

Abstract

The present device may project a building design drawing onto a floor to indicate substantially precisely where contractors should install their products on the construction site. The device scans the raw space, compares the proposed construction documents with the existing conditions and projects a full scale accurate image of the plan on a work surface of either gravel, dirt and/or concrete. The resulting image would allow installation of underground utilities and walls more quickly and with increased accuracy. This decreases the time needed for installation and reduces or eliminates the need for costly re-work necessitated by these common errors.

Claims

1. A portable imaging system for laying out an architectural plan on a worksite surface, comprising:

a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) device configured to emit a LIDAR beam that scans a worksite to generate LIDAR data that is associated with a distance between the LIDAR device and each end point of the LIDAR beam positioned on the worksite, wherein the LIDAR data is associated with a current state of the worksite and is associated with a plurality of current structures and conditions positioned on the worksite that exist in the current state of the worksite when scanned by the LIDAR beam;

a projector configured to project a projected image onto the worksite surface that aligns the architectural plan image with a 3D point cloud image so that each current structure and condition of the current state of the worksite as depicted in the projected image is aligned with the architectural plan image that the current state of the worksite is to be constructed and corrects distortion between the 3D point cloud image and the architectural plan image thereby enabling the worksite to be modified based on the projected image; and

a controller configured to;

generate the 3D point cloud image of the worksite based on the LIDAR data, wherein the 3D point cloud image depicts the current state of the worksite and the plurality of current structures and conditions on the worksite,

determine an orientation in rotation around an X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis position on the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis of the projector to a coordinate system associated with the LIDAR device and a horizontal field of view and vertical field of view of the projector based on the projector projecting downward and defining a northern edge of the projected image;

generate a first unit vector, a second unit vector, a third unit vector, and a fourth unit vector based on the horizontal view and the vertical field of view of the projector to generate corresponding depth edges of a geometric representation of the projected image, wherein the first unit vector, the second unit vector, the third unit vector, and the fourth unit vector intersect on a floor of the worksite;

rotate the first unit vector, the second unit vector, the third unit vector, and the fourth unit vector based on the orientation of the projector projecting downward and defining the northern edge of the projected image;

determine each projection corner of the projected image based on an intersection of the first unit vector, the second unit vector, the third unit vector, and the fourth unit vector with the floor of the worksite;

align the architectural plan image with the 3D point cloud image, wherein the architectural plan image is aligned with the 3D point cloud image so that each current structure and condition of the current state of the worksite as depicted by the 3D point cloud image is aligned with the architectural plan image when the 3D point cloud image is overlaid on the architectural plan image,

correct an overlay of the 3D point cloud image on the architectural plan image to account for the distortion between the 3D point cloud image and the architectural plan image when overlaid, wherein the architectural plan image is aligned on an overlapping range of an axis of the 3D point cloud image to correct the overlay of the 3D point cloud image on the architectural plan image, and

generate the projected image that is projected onto the worksite surface that aligns each current structure and condition of the current state of the worksite with the architectural plan image and corrects the distortion between the 3D point cloud image and the architectural plan image;

a wireless computing device configured to adjust the projected image projected onto the worksite surface by adjusting a brightness characteristic, a clarity characteristic, and a sharpness characteristic of the projected image to adjust the projected image to a plurality of actual conditions of the worksite surface.

2. The portable imaging system according to claim 1, and further comprising a power supply.

3. The portable imaging system according to claim 1, and further comprising computer software for image processing.

4. The portable imaging system according to claim 1, and further comprising a protective case.

5. The portable imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the projector is a laser projector.

6. A method of laying out an architectural plan image on a worksite surface,

emitting, via a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) device, a LIDAR beam that scans a worksite to generate LIDAR data that is associated with a distance between the LIDAR device and each point of the LIDAR beam positioned on the worksite, wherein the LIDAR data is associated with a current state of the worksite and is associated with a plurality of current structures and conditions positioned on the worksite that exist in the current state of the worksite when scanned by the LIDAR beam;

generating a 3D point cloud image of the worksite based on the LIDAR data, wherein the 3D point cloud image depicts the current state of the worksite and the plurality of current structures and conditions on the worksite;

determining an orientation in rotation around an X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis position on the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis of a projector relative to a coordinate system associated with the LIDAR device and a horizontal field of view and vertical field of view of the projector based on the projector projecting downward and defining a northern edge of a projected image;

generating a first unit vector, a second unit vector, a third unit vector, and a fourth unit vector based on the horizontal field of view and the vertical field of view of the projector to generate corresponding depth edges of a geometric representation of the projected image, wherein the first unit vector, the second unit vector, the third unit vector, and the fourth unit vector intersect on a floor of the worksite;

rotating the first unit vector, the second unit vector, the third unit vector, and the fourth unit vector based on the orientation of the projector projecting downward and defining the northern edge of the projected image;

determining each projection corner of the projected image based on an intersection of the first unit vector, the second unit vector, the third unit vector, and the fourth unit vector with the floor of the worksite;

aligning the architectural plan image with the 3D point cloud image, wherein the architectural plan image is aligned with the 3D point cloud image so that each current structure and condition of the current state of the worksite as depicted by the 3D point cloud image is aligned with the architectural plan image when the 3D point cloud image is overlaid on the architectural plan image;

correcting an overlay of the 3D point cloud image on the architectural plan image to account for distortion between the 3D point cloud image and the architectural plan image when overlaid, wherein the architectural plan image is aligned on an overlapping range of an axis of the 3D point cloud image to correct the overlay of the 3D point cloud image on the architectural plan image;

generating the projected image that is projected onto the worksite surface, wherein the projected image is the architectural plan image that is aligned with the 3D point cloud image and corrects the distortion between the 3D point cloud image and the architectural plan image; and

projecting, by the projector, the projected image onto the worksite surface that aligns the architectural plan image with the 3D point cloud image and corrects distortion between the 3D point cloud image and the architectural plan image with a projector thereby enabling the worksite to be modified based on the projected image;

adjusting the projected image projected onto the worksite surface by adjusting a brightness characteristic, a clarity characteristic, and a sharpness characteristic of the projected image to adjust the projected image to a plurality of actual conditions of the worksite surface, wherein the adjusting is executed by a user a via a wireless computing device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein aligning the architectural plan image with the worksite image comprises adjusting the architectural plan image to fit within the worksite image.

8. The method of claim 6, and further comprising the step of locking the adjusted and aligned architectural image in place on the worksite surface.