Surveying system

• US 20090171618A1
• Filed: 12/02/2008
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Inventors: Saito, Masahiro, Kumagai, Kaoru
• Granted Patent: US 7,701,566 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/152
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/842 using electromagnetic, optical or photoelectric beams, e.g. laser beams
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/26 Indicating devices E02F5/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/002 Active optical surveying means optical plumbing G01C15/105
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/66 Tracking systems using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations

Abstract

The present invention provides a surveying system, which comprises a surveying instrument 1 which measures a distance and an angle by projecting a distance measuring light toward a target 12 and can measure a three-dimensional position data of said target and has a function to track the target, and a movable side control device 12 provided on the target side, wherein said surveying instrument has a communication means 15 capable to transmit the three-dimensional position data of the target measured by the surveying instrument to said movable side control device and a first control arithmetic unit 29 for controlling the search of the target by the surveying instrument, wherein said movable side control device has a displacement amount detecting means 38 of the target and a second control arithmetic unit 35 for calculating the displacement amount of the target based on a target detection signal from the displacement amount detecting means and for calculating a target position based on the displacement amount of the target and based on the three-dimensional position data, and in case the surveying instrument cannot track the target, the target position transmitted from the movable side control device is acquired, and the first control arithmetic unit starts searching of the target with the target position as a starting point.

Claims

1. A surveying system, comprising a surveying instrument which measures a distance and an angle by projecting a distance measuring light toward a target and capable to measure a three-dimensional position data of said target and has a function to track said target, and a movable side control device provided on said target side,

wherein said surveying instrument has a first communication means capable to transmit the three-dimensional position data of said target measured by said surveying instrument to said movable side control device and a first control arithmetic unit for controlling the search of said target by said surveying instrument,

wherein said movable side control device has a displacement amount detecting means of said target and a second control arithmetic unit for calculating the displacement amount of said target based on a target detection signal from said displacement amount detecting means and for calculating a target position based on said displacement amount of said target and based on said three-dimensional position data, and a second communicating means,

and wherein in case said surveying instrument cannot track said target, said target position transmitted from said movable side control device is acquired, and said first control arithmetic unit starts searching of said target with said target position as a starting point.

3. A surveying system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said displacement amount detecting means is an acceleration sensor.

4. A surveying system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a judgment that tracking is impossible is made when a distance measuring unit cannot receive a reflection light from a target.

5. A surveying system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a range where the tracking can be made is set up at said image pickup unit, and a judgment that the tracking is impossible is made when an image of the target received at said image pickup unit is deviated from said range.

2. A surveying system, comprising a surveying instrument which measures a distance and an angle by projecting a distance measuring light toward a target and capable to measure a three-dimensional position data of said, target and has a function to track said target, and a movable side control device provided on said target side, wherein said surveying instrument has a communication means capable to transmit the three-dimensional position data of said target measured by said surveying instrument to said movable side control device and a first control arithmetic unit for controlling the search of said target by said surveying instrument,

wherein said movable side control device has a displacement amount detecting means of said target and a second control arithmetic unit for calculating the displacement amount of said target based on a target detection signal from said displacement amount detecting means, and a second communicating means,

and wherein in case said surveying instrument cannot track said target, the displacement amount of said target to be transmitted from said movable side control device is acquired, said first control arithmetic unit calculates the three-dimensional position data of said target measured lastly and calculates a target position based on a displacement amount of said target and starts searching said target with said target position as a starting point.

6. A method for searching a target in a surveying system, wherein said system comprises a surveying instrument which measures a distance and an angle by projecting a distance measuring light toward a target and can measure a three-dimensional position data of said target and has a function to track said target, and a movable side control device provided on said target side and has a displacement amount of detecting means, comprising a step of estimating a current position of said target based on the three-dimensional position data of said target at the moment when the tracking has become impossible and based on a displacement amount at the moment when the tracking has become impossible, and a step of starting the search with said estimated position as a starting point.