Surveying system and laser reference plane smoothing method in surveying system

• US 8,887,823 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2011
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Inventors: Kamizono, Fumihiko, Hayashi, Kunihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Will, Thomas B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mitchell, Joel F.
• Application Number:
  US13/148,998
• Publication Number:
  US 20120012350A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,317 Days
• Field of Search: 172/4, 172/4.5, 356/622
• US Class Current: 172/4.5
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/842 using electromagnetic, optical or photoelectric beams, e.g. laser beams
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/847 using electromagnetic, optical or acoustic beams to determine the blade position, e.g. laser beams
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/004 Reference lines, planes or sectors

Abstract

A surveying system comprises a plurality of rotary laser devices (1a, 1b), being installed at known points, for projecting laser beams (3a, 3b) in rotary irradiation and for forming laser reference planes (RPa, RPb) respectively, a photodetecting device (5), being installed on a movable support member (4), for receiving the laser beam and for detecting a height of each of the laser reference planes at their photodetecting position, a coordinate position measuring device (6) for detecting coordinate position of the support member, and a control device (7), wherein the rotary laser devices form the laser reference planes in such manner that at least a part of each effective range of the laser reference planes is overlapped on each other, the control device sets up a smoothing area within a range where the effective ranges are overlapped on each other, and in case the support member is judged to be within the smoothing area, based on a result of measurement by the coordinate position measuring device, the control device carries out smoothing processing of the laser reference plane continuously by the smoothing reference plane in the smoothing area based on the result of measurement by the coordinate position measuring device and also based on the result of detection by the photodetecting device.

Claims

1. A surveying system, comprising:

a plurality of rotary laser devices, being installed at known points, each for projecting a laser beam in rotary irradiation and for forming a respective laser reference plane having an effective range;

a photodetecting device, installed on a movable support member, for receiving said laser beams and for detecting a height of each of the respective laser reference planes at their photodetecting position;

a coordinate position measuring device for detecting coordinate position of said support member; and

a control device, wherein said rotary laser devices form said respective laser reference planes in such manner that at least a part of each effective range of said laser reference planes is overlapped with each other, wherein said overlapped references planes are not coplanar and a bump exists, which is created by a discontinuity in height between said overlapped reference planes in the overlapped range, and said control device sets up a smoothing area within a range where said effective ranges are overlapped with each other, and when said support member is judged to be within said smoothing area, based on a result of measurement by said coordinate position measuring device, said control device eliminates said bump by calculating a smoothing reference plane in said smoothing area based on the result of measurement by said coordinate position measuring device and also based on the result of detection by said photodetecting device, and connecting said overlapped laser reference planes using said smoothing reference plane.

2. A surveying system according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of rotary laser devices project said laser beams that are identifiable from each other in rotary irradiation, and said photodetecting device can identify said laser beams individually.

3. A surveying system according to claim 1, wherein said support member has a working implement in a known relation with said photodetecting device, and said control device controls a height of said working implement based on a result of the smoothing processing.

4. A surveying system according to claim 1, wherein said control device calculates a deviation in height direction between said respective laser reference planes based on the result of detection by said photodetecting device, calculates a position of said support member within said smoothing area based on the result of measurement by said coordinate position measuring device, and calculates in real time said smoothing reference plane or said smoothing reference position after the smoothing processing based on the calculated deviation of said height direction and also based on the calculated position within said smoothing area.

5. A surveying system according to claim 1 or claim 4, wherein said control device calculates in real time said smoothing reference plane or said smoothing reference position by weighted averaging based on the deviation in height direction between said respective laser reference planes and also based on the position of said support member within said smoothing area.

6. A surveying system according to claim 5, wherein a weighted averaging coefficient is included by giving consideration on smoothness in the calculation of said smoothing reference plane or said smoothing reference position of said control device.

7. A surveying system according to claim 1, wherein a working area is within the effective range of at least two of said respective laser reference planes.

8. A laser reference plane smoothing method in a surveying system, comprising:

forming a plurality of laser reference planes and overlapping at least a part of effective range of said laser reference planes, wherein said overlapped references planes are not coplanar and a bump exists, which is created by a discontinuity in height between said overlapped laser reference planes in the overlapped range,

setting a smoothing area within said overlapped range, detecting said laser reference planes respectively in said smoothing area and obtaining a deviation in height between said laser reference planes,

detecting a coordinate position where light beams are detected within overlapped range, and

eliminating said bump by smoothly continuing said laser reference planes within said smoothing area based on the obtained deviation of height and on the detected coordinate position.