Electronic survey instrument

• US 5,650,949 A
• Filed: 04/22/1996
• Issued: 07/22/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Kishimoto, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Cosimano, Edward R.
• Application Number:
  US08/636,909
• Time in Patent Office: 456 Days
• Field of Search: 33/291, 356/3, 364/561, 364/579
• US Class Current: 702/155
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 1/02 Theodolites

Abstract

An electronic survey instrument provided with an electronically controlled survey unit for metering at least one of a distance and an angle. A storage unit having two memory devices is provided for storing an operating system, a control program on one device and data on the other. The control program is created on a stand alone computer on the basis of the operating system. A central processing unit outputs a control signal for the electrically controlled survey unit in accordance with the operating system and the control program. A communication interface converts the control signal from the central processing unit into a signal suitable for the electrically controlled survey unit, and transmits the converted signal to the electrically controlled survey unit.

Claims

1. An electronic survey instrument comprising:

a survey instrument hardware unit for performing surveying operations in accordance with a control program and outputting measurement data;

a drive apparatus having a first and a second drive unit, each drive unit for receiving a memory selected from a program memory for storing the control program and a data memory for storing the measurement data from the survey instrument hardware unit, each of said memories being provided with an identifying code;

discriminating means for discriminating whether a memory inserted in one of said first and second drive units is one of said program memory and said data memory by reading said identifying code of the memory inserted in said one drive unit; and

;

drive determining means for causing said first drive unit to operate as a reading drive and said second drive unit to operate as a writing drive or said first drive unit to operate as a writing drive and said second drive unit to operate as a reading drive, based on the output of said discriminating means.

2. An electronic survey instrument according to claim 1, wherein said discriminating means discriminates whether a memory inserted in said first drive unit is one of said program memory and said data memory after discriminating the memory inserted in said second drive unit;

and

wherein said drive determining means determines an error if said discriminating means discriminates that the memory inserted in said first drive unit and the memory inserted in said second drive unit are the same type of memory.

3. An electronic survey instrument according to claim 1, wherein said program memory is a memory card and said data memory is a memory card.

4. An electronic survey system comprising:

a survey instrument hardware unit for outputting a metering data corresponding to at least one of a metered distance and a metered angle having;

a storage medium for storing a control program;

a drive unit for driving said storage medium; and

a central controlling unit operating in accordance with an operating system, said central controlling unit for controlling said survey instrument hardware unit in accordance with said control program; and

a remote computer unit for producing said control program, said computer unit operating in accordance with said operating system and having a drive unit for recording the made control program in said storage medium.

5. An electronic survey system according to claim 4, wherein said computer unit has means for providing a pseudo metering data to said control program.

6. An electronic survey system according to claim 4, wherein said storage medium is a memory card.