Surveying apparatus

• US 7,503,123 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2007
• Issued: 03/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Instrument Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Pentax Industrial Instruments Co. Ltd. (Hoya Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakurai, Masatoshi, Matsuo, Shunji, Takayama, Homu, Yachi, Takanori
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, RICHARD A
• Application Number:
  US11/772,476
• Publication Number:
  US 20080120855A1
• Time in Patent Office: 624 Days
• Field of Search: 332/90, 332/91, 332/92
• US Class Current: 33/290
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 1/04 combined with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/00 Surveying instruments or accessories not provided for in groups G01C1/00 - G01C13/00

Abstract

A surveying apparatus is provided that includes a sighting telescope, an imaging device, and an external orientation parameter calculator. The sighting telescope is rotatable about a horizontal axis and a vertical axis. The imaging device is integrally rotated with the sighting telescope and the imaging device has an optical axis that is different from the collimation axis. The external orientation parameter calculator calculates external orientation parameters of stereo images that are obtained by the imaging device in an erecting observation and in an inverse observation in terms of the position of the optical axis with respect to the collimation axis, and the sighting directions in the erection observation and in the inverse observation.

Claims

1. A surveying apparatus comprising:

a sighting telescope that is rotatable about a horizontal axis and a vertical axis;

an imaging device that is integrally rotated with said sighting telescope and has an optical axis that is different from the collimation axis; and

an external orientation parameter calculator that calculates external orientation parameters of stereo images that are obtained by said imaging device in an erecting observation and in an inverse observation in terms of the position of said optical axis with respect to said collimation axis, and the sighting directions in the erection observation and in the inverse observation.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical axis is substantially parallel to said collimation axis.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a recording medium that stores a deviation angle of said optical axis from said collimation axis, and wherein said external orientation parameter calculator calculates the external orientation parameters based on the deviation angle.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein image data of the stereo images and the external orientation parameters are stored in a recording medium with information relating each other.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image data of the stereo images and a measurement data are stored in the recording medium with information relating each other.