Surveying instrument

• US 5,767,952 A
• Filed: 11/30/1995
• Issued: 06/16/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Haruhiko, Hirano, Satoshi, Ohtomo, Fumio
• Primary Examiner(s): Buczinski, Stephen C.
• Application Number:
  US08/565,677
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• Field of Search: 356/4.01-5.15, 356/141.3, 356/151.1, 356/151.3
• US Class Current: 356/4.01
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/002 Active optical surveying means optical plumbing G01C15/105
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/006 using shared front-end circuitry, e.g. antennas G01S13/765, G01S13/825 take precedence

Abstract

A surveying instrument, which comprises an object to be irradiated, a projection system provided on a range finder or on a range finding angle measuring instrument having a range finder and for emitting a laser beam toward the object, driving means for driving a laser emitting source of the projection system, and control means for controlling emitting condition of the laser beam via the driving means based on a distance data from the range finder to the object to be irradiated, whereby, in case there is a deviation between the preset distance and a distance measured by the range finder, the control means changes irradiation intensity of the laser beam, or in case there is a deviation between the preset distance and a distance measured by the range finder, the control means changes irradiation intensity of the laser beam and also changes time interval of the intensity changes according to extent of the deviation, and position information and instruction are transmitted to the object to be irradiated side using the laser beam as an information transmitting medium to facilitate positioning of the object to be irradiated.

Claims

1. A surveying instrument, comprising an object to be irradiated having a prism for measuring distance and a target arranged at a predetermined interval from said prism, a range finder or a range finding angle measuring instrument having a range finder and a projection system having a laser emitting source, said projection system being parallel to said range finder, at said predetermined interval, and adapted to emit a laser beam toward said object to be irradiated, driving means for driving said laser emitting source of said projection system, and control means for controlling the emitting condition of said laser beam by said driving means based on distance data from said range finder to said object to be irradiated.

2. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein said control means is adapted to change the irradiation intensity of said laser beam when there is a deviation between a preset distance and a distance measured by said range finder.

3. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein, when there is a deviation between a preset distance and a distance measured by said range finder, said control means is adapted to change the irradiation intensity of said laser beam according to the extent of said deviation, and is adapted to change the time interval of the intensity change.

4. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam from the projection system is modulated.

5. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein the object to be irradiated comprises light receiving means for receiving a guiding laser beam and display means for displaying position information of the object to be irradiated from the range finder or from the range finding angle measuring instrument having a range finder based on the output from the light receiving means and for displaying instruction to the object to be irradiated.

6. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein the object to be irradiated comprises light receiving means for receiving a guiding laser beam and an audio output means for outputting audio signal of position information of the object to be irradiated obtained from the range finder or from the range finding angle measuring instrument having a range finder and of the instruction to the object to be irradiated based on the output from said light receiving means.

7. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein said prism for measuring distance is parallel to said target and said range finder is parallel to said projection system, and wherein said prism is arranged below said target and said range finder is arranged below said projection system.

8. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein said prism for measuring distance is parallel to said target and said range finder is parallel to said projection system, and wherein said prism is arranged above said target and said range finder is arranged above said projection system.

9. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, comprising a laser point guide for emitting a colored light beam and for indicating the irradiation direction of said laser beam, wherein said colored light beam is divided into two sectors (left and right) or four sectors (left and right and above and below) and the direction of said colored light beam is the same as the irradiation direction of said laser beam from said projection system.