Enhanced Position Measurement Systems and Methods
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A position measurement system, comprising:
- a rod having a base, the rod being configured to be disposed with the base substantially in contact with a ground surface and a longitudinal axis in a substantially vertical position; and
a sensing subsystem coupled with the rod, the sensing subsystem comprising;
a global navigation satellite system (“
GNSS”
) device for obtaining GNSS data;
an azimuth determination device for determining an azimuth from the position measurement system to an object of interest;
a tilt sensor for obtaining tilt data about a tilt angle of the position measurement system; and
a data storage device for storing data obtained by the sensing subsystem.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Novel solutions for position measurement, including without limitation tools and techniques that can be used for land surveying and in similar applications. One such tool is a greatly enhanced position measurement system that takes the form of a surveying rod with substantial independent functionality, which can be used with or without a total station or similar device.
98 Citations
69 Claims
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1. A position measurement system, comprising:
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a rod having a base, the rod being configured to be disposed with the base substantially in contact with a ground surface and a longitudinal axis in a substantially vertical position; and a sensing subsystem coupled with the rod, the sensing subsystem comprising; a global navigation satellite system (“
GNSS”
) device for obtaining GNSS data;an azimuth determination device for determining an azimuth from the position measurement system to an object of interest; a tilt sensor for obtaining tilt data about a tilt angle of the position measurement system; and a data storage device for storing data obtained by the sensing subsystem. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A position measurement system, comprising:
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a rod having a base, the rod being configured to be disposed with the base substantially in contact with a ground surface and a longitudinal axis in a substantially vertical position; an imaging subsystem coupled with the rod, the imaging subsystem comprising a plurality of cameras, to capture an image of at least a portion of a landscape surrounding the position measurement system; and a control system in communication with the imaging subsystem, the control system comprising a processor and a computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions executable by the processor to cause the control system to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising; instructions to determine a position of the position measurement system; instructions to receive an image from the imaging subsystem; instructions to orient the received image with regard to a frame of reference, based at least in part on the position of the position measurement system; instructions to determine a coordinate position of an object point using the received image; and instructions to store the determined coordinate position of the object point. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A position measurement system, comprising:
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a rod having a base, the rod being configured to be disposed with the base substantially in contact with a ground surface and a longitudinal axis in a substantially vertical position; a sensing subsystem comprising an electronic distance measurement (“
EDM”
) system, the EDM system comprising an emitter, the sensing subsystem further comprising a vertical angle sensor that determines a vertical angle of the emitter; anda control system in communication with the sensing subsystem, the control system comprising a processor and a computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions executable by the processor to cause the control system to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising; instructions to determine a position of the position measurement system; instructions to receive, from the sensing subsystem, distance data regarding a measured distance from the position measurement system to an object of interest; instructions to receive, from the sensing subsystem, vertical angle data regarding a vertical angle of the emitter; instructions to determine a position of the object of interest, based at least in part on the position of the position measurement system, the distance data, and the vertical angle data. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A position measurement system, comprising:
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a rod having a base, the rod being configured to be disposed with the base substantially in contact with a ground surface and a longitudinal axis in a substantially vertical position; a sensing subsystem coupled with the rod, the sensing subsystem comprising; a global navigation satellite system (“
GNSS”
) device for obtaining GNSS data;an azimuth determination device for determining an azimuth from the position measurement system to an object of interest; a tilt sensor for obtaining tilt data about a tilt angle of the position measurement system; and a data storage device for storing data obtained by the sensing subsystem; and an imaging subsystem, comprising a plurality of cameras, to capture an image of at least a portion of a landscape surrounding the position measurement system. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40)
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41. A position measurement system, comprising:
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a rod having a base, the rod being configured to be disposed with the base substantially in contact with a ground surface and a longitudinal axis in a substantially vertical position; a sensing subsystem coupled with the rod, the sensing subsystem comprising; a global navigation satellite system (“
GNSS”
) device for obtaining GNSS data;a compass for obtaining compass orientation data about the position measurement system; a tilt sensor for obtaining tilt data about a tilt angle of the position measurement system; a gyroscope for obtaining gyroscopic data about a relative orientation of the position measurement system; a data storage device for storing data obtained by the sensing subsystem; and a first communication interface; and a control subsystem in communication with the sensing subsystem, the control system comprising; a second communication interface for communicating with the first communication interface; a display device; an input device; a processor; and a computer readable storage medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions executable by the processor to cause the position measurement system to perform one or more operations. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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67. A method comprising:
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situating a position measurement system at a chosen location, the position measurement system comprising; a rod having a base, the rod being configured to be disposed with the base substantially in contact with a ground surface and a longitudinal axis in a substantially vertical position; a sensing subsystem coupled with the rod, the sensing subsystem comprising; a global navigation satellite system (“
GNSS”
) device for obtaining GNSS data;a compass for obtaining compass orientation data about the position measurement system; a tilt sensor for obtaining tilt data about a tilt angle of the position measurement system; a gyroscope for obtaining gyroscopic data about a relative orientation of the position measurement system; and a data storage device for storing data obtained by the sensing subsystem; and a control subsystem, in communication with the sensing subsystem, for controlling operation of the sensing subsystem; establishing communication between the control subsystem and the sensing subsystem; receiving, from the sensing subsystem, GNSS data, compass orientation data, tilt data, and gyroscopic data; calculating a true compass azimuth to the target object, based at least in part on the compass orientation data; calculating a gyroscopic azimuth to the target object, based at least in part on the gyroscopic data; selecting a preferred azimuth to the target object, based at least in part on the true compass azimuth and the gyroscopic azimuth; adjusting the preferred azimuth, based at least in part on the tilt data, to produce a selected azimuth; and displaying, on the display device, information about the selected azimuth. - View Dependent Claims (68)
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69. An apparatus, comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computer system to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising; instructions for establishing communication between the computer system and a sensing subsystem of a position measurement system; instructions for receiving, from the sensing subsystem, GNSS data, compass orientation data, tilt data, and gyroscopic data; instructions for calculating a true compass azimuth to the target object, based at least in part on the compass orientation data; instructions for calculating a gyroscopic azimuth to the target object, based at least in part on the gyroscopic data; instructions for selecting a preferred azimuth to the target object, based at least in part on the true compass azimuth and the gyroscopic azimuth; instructions for adjusting the preferred azimuth, based at least in part on the tilt data, to produce a selected azimuth; and instructions for causing the display, on a display device, of information about the selected azimuth.
Specification