Optics: measuring and testing – Angle measuring or angular axial alignment – Apex of angle at observing or detecting station
Patent
1994-02-22
1996-12-24
Buczinski, Stephen C.
Optics: measuring and testing
Angle measuring or angular axial alignment
Apex of angle at observing or detecting station
356 408, 3561415, 359226, G01B 1126, G01C 308, G02B 2608
Patent
active
055877877
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for measuring relative angles between a reference direction of a measuring platform and remote measuring points by means of light rays which start from the measuring platform and are reflected back to the measuring platform by reflecting means attached to the measuring points and are received and processed by receiving means provided at the measuring platform. The present invention also relates to measuring devices to implement this process.
For example, to determine the position of a measuring platform with respect to reference points with known positions, the distances between the measuring platform and the reference points are measured. From that, the position of the measuring platform can be determined. Instead of measuring the distances, the angular position of the measuring platform with respect to the reference points can also be measured. On the basis of a surveying plan, this procedure also results in the position of the measuring platform being determined. These angles can be measured starting from either the measuring platform or from the individual reference points. Usually the angles relative to a defined reference direction are measured. To measure these relative angles a manually operable optical angle measuring device is frequently used in the conventional manner.
To measure these relative angles automatically, there exist methods and systems that function with the aid of light transmitters at the measuring platform and reflectors at the reference points. In so doing, a collimated light ray is focused on the reference point, wherein the focusing of this light ray represents directly the desired relative angle with respect to the reference direction. Thus, the position of the measuring platform can be determined with the aid of an existing surveying plan.
The object of the present invention is to find now a simple process for measuring relative angles that runs virtually automatically and can determine rapidly and accurately these relative angles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This problem is solved according to the invention in that the departing light ray is optically fanned into a flat band and this band is swivelled around an axis of the measuring platform in a predefined angular range, whereby the evaluating system of the measuring platform has several counters, of which one is operated with a counting pulse from the beginning of the angular range up to its end, and the other counters start to count with the same counting pulse at the beginning of the angular range and stop counting in succession upon receiving the next subsequent reflecting signal from a measuring point; and that from the count ratios between the counter of the angular range and the other counters, the relative angular positions between the beginning of the angular range of the measuring platform and the measuring points are calculated.
Since the light ray is fanned out, only a bypass of this light fan, for example, around a vertical axis is needed in order to obtain within the fan width reflecting signals from measuring points. To date, the light ray had to be focused exactly on the reflecting means. For most applications the corresponding measuring points are also positioned in a relatively narrow horizontal band when seen from the measuring platform. Since the ratio of counts is used to determine the angle, the resulting angle is not a function of the bypass speed of the light ray. The result is very accurate measurement of the angle.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized by the fact that there are two fan-shaped light rays which can be swiveled around the same axis of the measuring platform and which are oriented with respect to each other, preferably at right angles, and that each of these light ray fans has its own group of counters; and the relative angular positions of the measuring points with respect to the reference direction are calculated from the counts. By using two fans with different angular positions with respect
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Buczinski Stephen C.
J. Muller AG
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