Measuring method and measuring instrument

• US 8,908,169 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2011
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Inventors: Nagai, Katsuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Diacou, Ari M
• Application Number:
  US13/182,675
• Publication Number:
  US 20120081691A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,244 Days
• Field of Search: 356/139.06, 356/139.1
• US Class Current: 356/139.06
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 1/04 combined with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/002 Active optical surveying means optical plumbing G01C15/105
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/04 Adaptation of rangefinders for combination with telescopes or binoculars
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/08 Use of electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S17/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4808 Evaluating distance, position or velocity data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4817 relating to scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4972 Alignment of sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/00 Panoramic or wide-screen photography; Photographing extended surfaces, e.g. for surveying; Photographing internal surfaces, e.g. of pipe

Abstract

The invention provides a measuring method for performing monitoring measurement on a plurality of measuring points by using a measuring instrument, which comprises a telescope unit, a distance measuring unit, an image sensor, angle detecting units for detecting a directional angle in sighting direction, and an arithmetic unit. The monitoring measurement comprises a coarse monitoring measurement for acquiring a digital image in measuring direction and for performing angle measurement on the measuring point, and a precise monitoring measurement for performing sighting of the measuring point by the telescope unit and for performing distance measurement and angle measurement, and wherein the coarse monitoring measurement is executed on each of the measuring points, a deviation of a result of the coarse measurement by the coarse monitoring measurement from the initial value is determined, and the precise monitoring measurement is executed on the measuring point where the deviation exceeds a first threshold value.

Claims

1. A measuring method for performing monitoring measurement on a plurality of measuring points by using a measuring instrument, which comprises a telescope unit for performing sighting of a measuring point, which is set up at a plurality of places within a measurement range, where an initial value of a set up position is already known, a distance measuring unit for measuring a distance to the measuring point by projecting a distance measuring light through said telescope unit, an image sensor for taking an image in direction of measurement and for acquiring a digital image, angle detecting units each for detecting a directional angle in sighting direction of said telescope unit, and an arithmetic unit for making said telescope unit perform automatic sighting to the measuring point and for calculating directional angles of the measuring point based on a deviation of the measuring point on the digital image from a sighting axis and based on a result of detection from said angle detecting unit,

wherein said monitoring measurement comprises a coarse monitoring measurement and a precise monitoring measurement,

wherein said coarse monitoring measurement acquires a digital image while scanning the measurement range and detects a directional angle of a measurement point from said digital image and said angle detecting units,

wherein said precise monitoring measurement acquires a deviation between the directional angle of a measurement point acquired by the coarse monitoring measurement and a directional angle of said initial value, performs automatic sighting on said measurement point by said telescope unit based on a directional angle of said initial value with respect to the measuring point where the deviation exceeds a first threshold value, performs a distance measurement by said distance measuring unit and performs angle measurement by said angle detecting unit.

2. A measuring method according to claim 1, wherein said coarse monitoring measurement comprises setting scanning speed and image pickup time interval such that an image of the object to be measured is included in at least two digital images, being adjacent to each other in terms of time, and averaging the obtained measurement result.

3. A measuring method according to claim 1, wherein an alarm signal is issued when a deviation of the measurement result of the precise monitoring measurement from the initial value exceeds a second threshold value.

4. A measuring method according to claim 1, wherein said method comprises

acquiring an image of the background in the measuring direction at the same time as the execution of the coarse monitoring measurement or as the execution of the precise monitoring measurement, and

judging a non-measurable state according to an image of the background in case the coarse monitoring measurement or the precise monitoring measurement cannot be performed.

5. A measuring instrument, comprising a telescope unit for performing sighting of a measuring point, which is set up at two or more places within a measurement range, where an initial value of a set up position is already known, a distance measuring unit for measuring a distance to the measuring point by projecting a distance measuring light through said telescope unit, an image sensor for taking an image in sighting direction and for acquiring a digital image, angle detecting units each for detecting a directional angle in sighting direction of said telescope unit, an automatic sighting unit for making said telescope unit perform automatic sighting on the measuring point, an image processing unit for detecting the measuring point in the digital image and for calculating a field angle with respect to a sighting axis of a telescope, and an arithmetic unit, wherein said arithmetic unit executes scanning on the measurement range as set up by said telescope unit, and executes coarse measurement which measures directional angles of the measuring point based on the field angle of measuring points of acquired images and on the directional angles of an image sighting direction, wherein in a case with the deviation exceeds a first threshold value, automatic sighting is performed on the measuring point exceeding the first threshold value by said telescope unit based on a directional angle of said initial value, and a precise monitoring measurement is executed which carries out distance measurement and angle measurement by said distance measuring unit and said angle measuring unit.

6. A measuring instrument according to claim 5, wherein said telescope unit has an image pickup unit for taking an image of background in the measuring direction, and in case where the result of coarse monitoring measurement or the result of precise monitoring measurement cannot be obtained, said arithmetic unit acquires an image of the background in direction of the measuring point where measurement result cannot be obtained by said image pickup unit.