Image analysis – Applications – Seismic or geological sample measuring
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-20
2001-03-13
Johns, Andrew W. (Department: 2721)
Image analysis
Applications
Seismic or geological sample measuring
C382S106000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06201883
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a topography measuring device for producing data on the entire subject topographical features to be measured, such as a mine or excavation site, with the use of a vehicle.
BACKGROUND ART
At mine and quarry sites, information on the topographical features of the sites is important for excavation scheduling and production control. Therefore, a vehicle provided with GPS was conventionally travelled at the site of excavation to obtain three-dimensional position data, and the obtained three-dimensional position data was used to measure topographical features.
Although such a method can measure the features of the ground surface where the vehicle can travel but cannot measure the features of the ground or working face to be excavated or worked.
The present invention was achieved in view of the circumstances described above. It is an object of the invention to provide a topography measuring device which can efficiently measure the topographical features of a mine, ground, working face or the like where the vehicle cannot travel.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The invention according to claim
1
relates to a topography measuring device which comprises: visual camera means mounted on a vehicle for measuring a distance to subject topographical features to be measured; absolute position detecting means mounted on the vehicle for detecting a three-dimensional absolute position of the vehicle; topographical coordinate measuring means for determining three-dimensional position data on the subject topographical features of a vehicle coordinate system based on image pickup data of the visual camera means; coordinate conversion means for converting the three-dimensional position data of the vehicle coordinate system of the subject topographical features determined by the topographical coordinate measuring means using detected data of the absolute position detecting means into three-dimensional position data of an absolute coordinate system; image pickup position instructing means for instructing the vehicle on a plurality of different vehicle positions for taking images of the subject topographical features by the image pickup means; and topographical data producing means for producing topographical data on the subject topographical features by synthesizing the conversion data of the coordinate conversion means based on the image pickup data of the visual camera means at the plurality of different vehicle positions instructed by the image pickup position instructing means.
In the invention according to claim
1
, three-dimensional position data on the subject topographical features of the vehicle coordinate system is determined based on the image pickup data of the visual camera means mounted on the vehicle, and the three-dimensional position data is converted into three-dimensional position data of the absolute coordinate system based on the output of the absolute position detecting means mounted on the vehicle. A field of vision of the visual camera means is changed by moving the vehicle position to take pictures of different areas of the subject topographical features, three-dimensional position data on the respective areas of the absolute coordinate system obtained from the image pickup data is synthesized to obtain data on the entire shape of the subject topographical features.
Thus, according to the invention corresponding to claim
1
, the three-dimensional position data on the subject topographical features of the vehicle coordinate system obtained from the image pickup data of the visual camera means is converted into the absolute coordinate system. Therefore, the subject topographical features of the images of different areas can be synthesized very easily, and the entire image of the subject topographical features can be obtained readily.
The invention according to claim
2
detects a posture angle of the vehicle body, compensates for the detected segment of the posture angle to determine three-dimensional position data on the subject topographical features of the absolute coordinate system. Thus, data on the shape of the subject topographical features can be obtained more accurately.
In the invention according to claim
3
, the image pickup positions are instructed to the vehicle so that the images of the subject topographical features can be taken successively in a direction along the ground surface. Therefore, the image data do not have a largely overlapped portion or any intervals, and the entire image of the subject topographical features can be obtained efficiently.
The invention according to claim
4
calculates an earth volume excavated on the basis of data on the topographical features before and after the excavation. Therefore, an excavated volume can be judged from the calculated volume. Namely, since a work load at the construction site is often determined based on not a weight but a volume, the invention is a useful method for determining the work load.
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patent: 5774826 (1998-06-01), McBride
patent: 5899957 (1999-05-01), Loomis
patent: 5938704 (1999-08-01), Torii
patent: 5984475 (1999-11-01), Galiana et al.
patent: 5986604 (1999-11-01), Nichols et al.
patent: 6009359 (1999-12-01), El-Hakim et al.
patent: 6052647 (2000-04-01), Parkinson et al.
Greer Burns & Crain Ltd.
Johns Andrew W.
Komatsu Ltd.
Nakhjavan Shervin
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