| US 7,609,365 B2 | ||
| Electro-optical distance measuring method, distance measuring program and distance measuring device | ||
| Masaaki Yabe, Itabashi-ku (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Kabushiki Kaisha TOPCON, Tokyo-to (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Jan. 23, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/656,623. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2006-255466 (JP), filed on Sep. 21, 2006. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2008/0074636 A1, Mar. 27, 2008 | ||
| This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer. | ||
| Int. Cl. G01C 3/08 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 356—5.01 [356/4.01; 356/5.1] | 15 Claims |
| 1. An electro-optical distance measuring method for measuring a distance to an object to be measured by receiving a reflected
light from the object to be measured, comprising:
a step of projecting a laser beam which consists of pulses sequentially emitted with a predetermined spreading angle so as
to include two or more objects to be measured;
a step of receiving the reflected lights from the two or more objects to be measured by a photodetection unit via the same
optical path for each pulse of the pulsed laser beam;
a step of discriminating and detecting the reflected light from one of said two or more objects to be measured;
a step of discriminating and detecting the reflected lights from said two or more objects to be measured respectively; and
a step of measuring distances to said two or more objects to be measured respectively based on the results of detection of
the discriminated reflected lights; wherein, in the step of discriminating said reflected lights for each emitted pulse, the
reflected light received first in one emitted pulse is detected, the detection is restricted on the detected reflected light
after the reflected light is detected at least one time, and the reflected light received first after light emission except
the restricted reflected light can be detected after restriction.
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