Handheld measuring device

• US 9,513,140 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2010
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Krapf, Reiner, Sgarz, Heiko, Mahler, Michael, Wuersch, Christoph, Kaneider, Wilfried
• Primary Examiner(s): Barbee, Manuel L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nimox, Raymond
• Application Number:
  US13/516,662
• Publication Number:
  US 20130179123A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,233 Days
• Field of Search: 702/187
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 3/08 with provision for safeguarding the apparatus, e.g. against abnormal operation, against breakdown
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/15 specially adapted for use during transport, e.g. by a person, vehicle or boat

Abstract

A handheld measuring device includes at least one locating sensor provided for locating at least one object in a measured object, and has a protective circuit that comprises at least one object sensor provided for registering at least one object parameter which at least depends on an alignment of the locating sensor to the measured object. The protective circuit has at least one operator sensor provided for registering at least one operator parameter dependent on an operator.

Claims

1. A handheld measuring device, comprising:

at least one locating sensor configured to locate at least one item in a measurement object, the at least one locating sensor being configured to (i) in a first operating state, emit an electromagnetic field to locate the at least one item in the measurement object, and (ii) in a second operating state, cease emitting the electromagnetic field; and

a protective circuit configured to control whether the at least one locating sensor is in the first operating state based on an object parameter and an operator parameter, the protective circuit comprising;

at least one object sensor configured to measure the object parameter, the object parameter indicating a distance between the at least one locating sensor and the measurement object; and

at least one operator sensor configured to measure the operator parameter, the operator parameter indicating whether the handheld measuring device is currently being held by the operator,

wherein the protective circuit is configured to (i) cause the at least one locating sensor to change from the first operating state to the second operating state in response to the operator parameter indicating that the handheld measuring device is no longer being held by the operator, and (ii) cause the at least one locating sensor to change from the first operating state to the second operating state in response to the object parameter indicating that the distance between the at least one locating sensor and the measurement object exceeds a predetermined distance.

2. The handheld measuring device as claimed in claim 1, the protective circuit further comprising:

at least one evaluation unit configured to output a control parameter based on the object parameter and the operator parameter.

3. The handheld measuring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the object parameter is a distance between the at least one locating sensor and the measurement object.

4. The handheld measuring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locating sensor and the object sensor are at least partially integral.

5. The handheld measuring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the object sensor and the operator sensor is configured to measure a capacitance.

6. The handheld measuring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the object sensor and the operator sensor have an at least partially integral measuring mechanism.

7. The handheld measuring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the object sensor and the operator sensor are at least partially connected in series.

8. The handheld measuring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operator parameter is an acceleration of the handheld measuring device.

9. The handheld measuring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operator parameter is a speed of the handheld measuring device.

10. The handheld measuring device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the operator parameter is an operating speed of the handheld measuring device.