Surveying instrument

• US 7,564,488 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2005
• Issued: 07/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Masaaki, Kumagai, Kaoru, Ohtomo, Fumio
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan; Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): FOSSELMAN, JOEL W
• Application Number:
  US11/137,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20050275829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,518 Days
• Field of Search: 348/207.99, 348/347, 348/240, 356/4.01, 356/5.01
• US Class Current: 348/240.3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/002 Active optical surveying means optical plumbing G01C15/105

Abstract

A surveying instrument, comprising a first image pickup unit for obtaining a first image in a collimating direction, a second image pickup unit for obtaining a second image highly magnified than the first image pickup unit, a display unit for displaying the images obtained by the first image pickup unit and the second image pickup unit, and a control unit for magnifying and continuously displaying the first image and the second image on the display unit.

Claims

1. A surveying instrument, comprising a first image pickup unit for obtaining a first image of an object to be measured in a collimating direction, a second image pickup unit which has a higher magnification as compared to said first pickup unit and obtains a second image at a higher magnification as compared to said first image, a display unit which has a touch panel and displays the images obtained by said first image pickup unit and said second image pickup unit, a distance measuring optical system for projecting a distance measuring light to said object to be measured and for receiving a reflection light from said object to be measured, a collimating optical system in which said object to be measured can be observed via an objective lens, an erected image prism and an ocular lens, and a control unit for magnifying and displaying the first image and the second image on said display unit, wherein an optical axis of said distance measuring optical system, an optical axis of said collimating optical system, and an optical axis of said second image pickup unit are coaxial in part, and said second image pickup unit receives a luminous flux from said object to be measured via said erect image prism, wherein the images obtained by said first image pickup unit and said second image pickup unit are a first digital image and a second digital image respectively, wherein said control unit sets a position instructed by said touch panel as a collimating point and displays said first digital image and said second digital image with the collimating point as a center, at a desired magnification up to the magnification of said second image pickup unit, said control unit is adapted to magnify and to display said first digital image, and at a desired magnification above the magnification of said second digital image pickup unit, said control unit is adapted to magnify and to display said second image.

2. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein said control unit continuously magnifies and displays the first digital image up to magnification of said second image pickup unit, and said control unit continuously magnifies and displays the second digital image when magnification of the image is more than the magnification of said second image pickup unit.

3. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein said control unit magnifies and displays the first digital image stepwise up to magnification of said second image pickup unit, and said control unit magnifies and displays the second digital image stepwise when magnification of the image is more than the magnification of said second image pickup unit.

4. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein an optical system of said first image pickup unit receives a luminous flux near said optical axis, and an optical axis of said second image pickup unit receives a luminous flux around said optical system of said first image pickup unit.

5. A surveying instrument according to claim 1, wherein a part of an optical axis of said first image pickup unit is coaxial with said optical axis of said distance measuring optical system, said optical axis of said collimating optical system, and said optical axis of said second image pickup unit.