| US 7,515,256 B2 | ||
| Position measuring instrument | ||
| Fumio Ohtomo, Tokyo (Japan); Kazuki Osaragi, Tokyo (Japan); and Kunihiro Hayashi, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Oct. 16, 2003, as Appl. No. 10/686,858. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2002-304224 (JP), filed on Oct. 18, 2002. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2004/0135990 A1, Jul. 15, 2004 | ||
| Int. Cl. G01C 3/08 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 356—141.1 [356/4.01] | 6 Claims |
| 1. A position measuring instrument that irradiates a reflector with a measuring light to determine the distance to the reflector
on the basis of the reflected light, comprising:
a rotating unit comprising a rotating mirror and means for expanding the measuring light in a fan-shaped manner, wherein said
fan-shaped manner expanding in an angular height direction relative to a horizontal plane;
a fixed unit comprising a distance-detection light emitting unit which has the same visual field as that of the fan-shaped
manner;
a distance-detection light receiving unit; and
an angle detector detecting the horizontal angle position of the rotating mirror, whereby the measuring light of fan-shape
is guided from the fixed unit via the rotating mirror horizontally to the reflector and the measuring light reflected by the
reflector is guided via the rotary mirror back to the fixed unit, further characterized by a horizontal angle and height angle
detecting unit comprising a detection light emitting unit and an imaging unit and by a transmitter for transmitting image
data from the imaging unit associated with position data of the reflector to a receiving unit of a photoreceiver comprising
the reflector, wherein
said measuring light includes collimation light;
said light receiving unit has a collimation-use light receiving sensor for receiving the collimation light; and
said collimation-use light receiving sensor detects a collimation center and deviation of the reflector by the reflected light.
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