Optics: measuring and testing – Angle measuring or angular axial alignment – Apex of angle at observing or detecting station
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-19
2003-11-11
Buczinski, Stephen C. (Department: 3662)
Optics: measuring and testing
Angle measuring or angular axial alignment
Apex of angle at observing or detecting station
C356S141100, C356S139050, C359S199200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06646732
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a position determination and adjustment system in which a laser source is rotated while emitting laser beam, so as to produce an inclined plane making a certain inclination angle from a horizontal reference plane, and it also relates to a light sensing device used for the system. The position determination and adjustment system according to the present invention allows for creating a reference point, a reference line, and a reference plane for measurements.
PRIOR ARTS
Prior art optical leveling apparatuses have been replaced with rotary laser devices used to produce a horizontal reference level covering a relatively large range.
For recent years, rotary laser devices have become popular in use for determining vertical orientations, especially, for creating lines and planes based upon reference elevations. Such rotary laser devices, while emitting laser beam in horizontal directions, rotates, reciprocally sweeps, and halts to produce reference planes of rotations, partial reference lines, reference planes, reference segments, reference points, and the like.
The rotary laser devices have been used to produce reference horizontal lines for the purpose of localization of window frames in interior constructions for buildings, and to produce reference horizontal planes for making mounts in construction sites and simulating sectional surfaces after cutting the grounds off. The rotary laser devices have also been used to set up reference points in determining inclinations for stairs, and some of those devices can produce reference planes inclined in one way or in two ways.
One of such prior art rotary laser devices capable of producing inclined reference surfaces is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H6-26861, and the configuration and operation of the disclosed rotary laser device will now be summed up.
Referring to
FIG. 24
, a rotary laser device
951
has a casing
901
and a laser projector
903
. The casing
901
has its upper center portion recessed in a shape of a frustum of a cone to define a concave portion
902
. The laser projector
903
vertically extends through the center of the concave portion
902
. The laser projector
903
supported by the recessed portion
902
can be tilted on and around a spherical mount
904
formed in the middle thereof. A rotary unit
905
provided with a pentaprism
909
is mounted in an upper portion of the laser projector
903
. The rotary unit
905
is rotated through a drive gear
907
and sweep gear
908
powered by a sweep motor
906
.
Two pairs of units of inclination mechanism (only one of the pairs is illustrated) are attached around the laser projector
903
. Either of the units
910
of the inclination mechanism includes a motor
911
, a screw
912
, and a nut
913
that are all cooperative to make inclination. The screw
912
is rotated through a driving gear
914
and a tilting gear
915
both powered by the motor
911
. The laser projector
903
is coupled to the nut
913
by a tilting arm
916
intervening therebetween. Rotations of the screw cause the nut
913
to vertically move, which, in turn, causes the laser projector
903
to tilt.
Two sensors
918
and
919
are located and separately fixed to the laser projector
903
in the middle thereof in a plane orthogonal to a rotation axis of the rotary unit
905
. One of the fixed sensors, the sensor
918
, is positioned in parallel with the tilting arm
916
while the other, the sensor
919
, is oriented orthogonal to the tilting arm
916
. A flange
920
having a pivot pin
921
is fixed to a lower end of the laser projector
903
. An upper end of the pivot pin
921
pivotally supports an L-shaped tilting plate
922
at one point thereon, and an angle-determining sensor
929
and an angle-determining sensor
930
are incorporated in the L-shaped tilting plate
922
. The angle-determining sensor
929
is positioned in the same direction as the fixed sensor
918
while the angle-determining sensor
930
is positioned in the same direction as the fixed sensor
919
. The tilting plate
922
is connected to both the pairs of the units of inclining mechanism (only one unit is shown).
Each of the units
925
of inclining mechanism includes a motor
926
, a screw
927
rotated by the motor
926
, and a nut block
928
through which the tilting screw
927
is screwed down, all of these components being cooperative to make a reference to inclination angle. One end of the tilting plate
922
is fitted on the nut block
928
. The motor
926
is actuated to rotate the screw
927
and vertically move the nut block
928
, and thus, the tilting plate
922
can be inclined.
A laser beam projector (not shown) and a projector optical system (not shown) including optics such as a collimator lens that refracts incident rays from the laser beam projector into parallel rays are built in the laser projector
903
. Laser beam emitted from the projector optical system is deflected in horizontal direction by the pentaprism and radiated out of a projector window
931
.
Functional features of the rotary laser device will now be described. Determination of an inclination angle is carried out by the inclining mechanism
925
. First, the inclination mechanism
910
is actuated to regulate postures of the fixed sensors
918
and
919
so that both of the sensors are horizontal. The motor
926
is then actuated to rotate the screw
927
and lift the nut block
928
, and consequently, the tilting plate
922
is inclined at an angle &eegr; relative to the flange
920
in a reverse angular direction to the desired predetermined angle &eegr;. The inclination angle &eegr; is detected by a component such as an encoder (not shown) linked to the motor
926
.
Then, the inclination mechanism
910
is actuated to tilt the laser projector
903
so that the tilting plate
922
is detected as being horizontal. At this posture, an emission direction of light from the laser projector
903
inclines at the predetermined angle &eegr; relative to the horizontal plane. After the inclination angle in the emission direction of the laser light is determined, the laser beam deflected at the pentaprism
909
in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis is radiated through the laser projector
903
while the rotary unit
905
is being rotated or the rotary unit
905
is reciprocally sweeping within a range equivalent to the predetermined angle, so as to produce an inclined reference plane.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-94544 discloses a post-construction elevation display apparatus and a post-construction elevation determining apparatus both of which are comprised of a laser device rotating simultaneous with irradiating laser beam and a finished elevation display. The post-construction elevation determining apparatus can determine a desired post-construction elevation by using the post-construction elevation display to receive laser beam irradiated by the laser device so as to detect a distance from the laser device to the display device and a deviation between the display device and a reference horizontal plane against which the laser beam is directed.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-118487 discloses a reference irradiated beam detecting apparatus incorporated with an inclination angle sensor, which is used in combination with a laser device.
Additionally, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H7-208990 discloses a 3-dimensional coordinate determining apparatus including an irradiating means rotating and irradiating a plurality of plane beams and more than one reflecting means. The 3D coordinate determining means uses the plurality of reflecting means to reflect light emitted from the irradiating means and uses the irradiated means to receive the reflected beams to determine 3-dimensional coordinates in relation with the reflecting means.
The prior art rotary laser device as in the above statement must have two pairs of units of inclining mechanism which support the laser projector
903
in a manner where the laser projector can have a full freedom of tilti
Hayashi Kunihiro
Kodaira Jun-ichi
Ohtomo Fumio
Osaragi Kazuki
Buczinski Stephen C.
Jacobson & Holman PLLC
Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
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