JP3082052B2 - Automatic leveling device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic leveling device used for a surveying instrument or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in order to use a surveying instrument, it is necessary to install the surveying instrument horizontally, and there is a leveling device as a device for holding the surveying instrument horizontally. In the conventional leveling device, the tilt table is supported by three columns, and the tilt table is tilt-adjusted by manually adjusting the height of the tilt table by the columns. A bubble tube is provided on the inclined table, and the inclined table is set in a horizontal state by looking at the bubble tube.

[0003]

According to the above-described conventional leveling device, when the machine is slightly tilted, the operator must level each time manually, which is troublesome, and is difficult for beginners and operators. An operator who does not have a problem that it is very difficult to understand the operation of adjusting the bubble to the center of the bubble tube with three adjusting screws, and it takes time to perform the adjustment.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to solve such conventional problems.

[0005]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object , one axis can be tilted on a first mount.
A first inclined table supported by the noh, and on the first inclined table
Others perpendicular to the one axis on the fixed second base
A second inclined table whose axis is tiltably supported;
Slidable in the axial direction and the uniaxial direction, respectively.
Sliding on the lower surface of the second inclined base to make the first and second inclined
First and second wedge members for tilting the table, and first and second wedge members.
The first and second drive units respectively slide the second wedge member.
Moving means, mounted on the second inclined table, the first and second
Tilt detector for detecting the amount of tilt of the tilt table, and detecting the tilt
Through the first and second driving means according to the detection value of the
Control the sliding amount of the first and second wedge members to
Control means for setting the inclined platform in a horizontal state .

[0006]

When the inclination detector detects the inclination angle , the inclination detector
The first tilt table and the second tilt table are set so that the tilt angle detected by
And the second inclined table are inclined at right angles to each other.
Is placed on the second inclined table by
Make the optical axis vertical or horizontal.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
1 to 3 show one embodiment of the present invention applied to a laser planar. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an automatic leveling device provided on a manual leveling device 2, which is a laser leveling device 10;
X-axis tilting mechanism (hereinafter referred to as X tilting mechanism) 20
And a Y-axis tilting mechanism (hereinafter referred to as a Y tilting mechanism) 30 that carries the mechanism 20. Laser planar body 10
Is provided with a turntable 13 rotatably supported by a non-contact (brushless) motor 12 on a base 11, and the turntable 13 is provided with a pentaprism 14.
13a is a bearing . An opening 16 (FIG. 3) is opened in the base 11, and a laser light source 17 is provided in a lower base 11 b below the base 11.
(Indicated by an arrow) passes through the aperture 16 and is emitted in the horizontal direction (reference numeral 1 ₁ ) from the wedge prism 15 (FIGS. 1 and 3) and the pentaprism 14. The wedge prism 15 is provided on the base 11 and has the function of correcting the fact that the plane formed by the rotation of the laser beam becomes umbrella-shaped by crowning. The light emitted from the laser light source 17 is emitted in a direction perpendicular to an X tilt table 21 described later.

[0008] The X tilt mechanism 20 is a laser planar body 1
0, an X wedge member 22 that slides on the lower surface of one side edge of the X inclination table 21 and is slidable back and forth in the X-axis direction, and a ball screw mechanism that drives the X wedge member 22 to slide. 23. The thickness of the X wedge member 22 becomes thinner toward the tip, and one side edge of the X inclined table 21 is expanded by a leaf spring 24 so that the X frame 2
5, and a gap d is provided between the X tilt table 21 and the X table 25.
Therefore, the X tilt table 21 can be tilted as shown by the arrow A in FIG. 2 by sliding the X wedge member 22 back and forth in the X axis direction. The X tilt table 21 is protruded from the X table 25 and X
It is pressed against the X wedge member 22 by a compression coil spring 27 mounted on a pin 26 extending upward through the inclined table 21. The ball screw mechanism 23 has a ball screw 23a extending along the X-axis direction, and is assembled to the ball screw 23a.
Slide unit 23b integrated with wedge member 22
The ball screw 23a is driven by the stepping motor 50X via the coupling 28, and thus the X wedge member 22 moves in the X-axis direction, and tilts the X tilt table 21. In FIG. 1, 29a,
Reference numeral 29b denotes a limit switch provided at the front and rear positions of the X wedge member 22 in the sliding direction for setting the tilt adjustment range of the X tilt base 21. An X-Y tilt detector 60 is installed on the X tilt table 21. The X-Y tilt detector 60 reads the X-axis and Y-axis tilt amounts of the X tilt table 21 and a microcomputer 40.
(FIG. 6).

[0009] As clearly shown in FIG.
One side edge of a Y inclined table 31 supporting the X frame 25 is supported on a Y frame 33 by a leaf spring 32, and the other side edge is supported by a Y wedge member 34. The Y wedge member 34 is integrated with the slide unit 35b which is a part of the ball screw mechanism 35, and the ball screw 35a is rotated by the stepping motor 50Y via the coupling 36, whereby the Y wedge member 34 is moved back and forth in the Y axis direction. The Y-tilt table 31 slides to tilt the Y-axis. In FIG. 3, reference numerals 37a and 37b denote limit switches for setting a Y-axis tilt adjustment range of the Y-tilt table 31.

The XY tilt detector 60 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), a bubble tube 604 in which a bubble 602 and a transparent liquid 603 are sealed in a transparent container 601 having an upper inner surface formed into a spherical concave surface, and a bubble tube 604 facing downward (from above). A light transmitting unit 605 for irradiating light.
A light receiving element 606 that converts light transmitted through the bubble tube 604 into an electric signal; and a calculation unit 607 that calculates an inclination angle from an output of the light receiving element 606.
For example, four light receiving portions 606a for position detection and a bubble shadow 60
2a and a reference light-receiving unit 606b disposed outside the movable range of JP-A-2-42310 and JP-A-2-42310.
-42311). According to this, the bubble can be used until it comes into contact with the end of the frame, but the accuracy and the tilt range are determined by the size of the radius of curvature of the concave surface of the bubble tube 604. That is, as the radius of curvature increases, the accuracy increases,
As the inclination range becomes smaller and the radius of curvature becomes smaller, the accuracy becomes worse, but the inclination range becomes larger. Now, the accuracy is ± 2 ″
In this case, the bubble comes into contact with the frame at an inclination of about 7.5 ', and then the bubble is crushed and deformed to about 15' and the output changes. The device needs to be level. Therefore, the case where the bubble moves from the center and comes into contact with the frame and the case where the bubble is further inclined after contact will be considered separately. In the former case, the inclination corresponds to about 7.5 'or less. In the latter case, the X wedge members 22 and Y are further inclined at about 7.5' after the bubble comes into contact with the frame.
The wedge member 34 is connected to the limit switches 29a, 29b and 37.
a, 37b. X more when leaning more
I want to move the wedge member 22 and the Y wedge member 34, but they cannot be tilted because of the aforementioned limit switch. So manually 1
Move bubbles within 5 '. When the bubble enters within 15 ', the XY tilt detector 60 detects the position of the bubble and moves the X and Y wedge members 22 and 34 so that the bubble moves to the center by the output of the microcomputer 40. When the output of the detector 60 is zero, the rotation of the stepping motors 50X and 50Y is stopped.

When the X and Y wedge members 22 and 34 move from one end to the other end, the X tilt table 21 and the Y tilt table 31 move to 30 '.
Incline. Therefore, the inclination can be made ± 15 ′ from the center. That is, for example, only the X-axis will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the voltage changes almost linearly within ± 7.5 ′ (actually, the change gradually decreases from 3 ′, for example), but the 7.5 ′ inclination Then, the bubble hits the end of the tube, and the bubble does not move but starts to collapse, so that the output voltage slightly changes. Since the limit switches 29a and 29b operate at 15 ', 15'
The laser planar body is set so that the entire apparatus is horizontal within the range. In order to keep the height within 15 ', it is necessary to position the air bubbles in this range by the manual leveling device 2. If the maximum tilt amount of the X tilt table 21 is set to 15', automatic leveling is performed. be able to.

By changing the curvature radius of the concave surface of the bubble tube and the inclination of the wedge, even a larger inclination can be automatically leveled.

A gear is provided on two adjusting screws of the manual leveling device, and the two adjusting screws are screwed with the gears and rotated by a motor via a gear provided on a motor shaft to automatically adjust the two adjusting screws. You can make it correspond. In order to make this automatic leveling accurate, the pitch of the adjusting screws may be set to 0.5 mm or 0.3 mm.

In FIG. 5, within the range of ± 7.5 ',
Since the relationship between the tilt angle and the output voltage changes almost linearly,
Interpolation can be performed up to seconds by the interpolation method, but memory is required. For example, if the interpolation is performed densely within ± 3 'and the outside is sparsely inserted, the memory capacity can be reduced and the calculation can be performed quickly. . The ± 3 'signal is easily obtained by comparison with the reference voltage.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the automatic leveling device of the present invention applied to a laser planar. X-
Y tilt detector 60, limit switches 29a, 29b,
37a and 37b are both connected to a microcomputer 40 as control means.
X-axis and Y-axis tilt amounts and limit switches 29a, 2
9b, 37a, and 37b are input, and the microcomputer 40 drives the X and Y tilt tables 21 and 31 to be horizontal according to the tilt of the X and Y tilt tables 21 and 31. The stepping motors 50X and 50Y are driven via the unit 51.

The laser light source 17 and the beam motor 12
Are connected to a microcomputer 40 via an emission control unit 17a and a rotation control unit 12a, respectively, and a buzzer 41 and an alarm lamp 42 are also connected to the microcomputer 40.

The operation of this device will be described in more detail with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 7. First, at step 70, the built-in storage battery (not shown) is checked, and if the voltage is an appropriate value, at step 71, the limit switches 29a, 29b, 3
It is checked whether 7a and 37b are on. If not, it is determined in step 72 whether or not the inclination amounts of the X axis and the Y axis are larger than ± 3 ′. If NO, the process proceeds to step 73, where a signal is output to the drive unit 51 of the stepping motors 50X, 50Y, and
Rotate 0Y. Then, in step 74, the X axis,
It is determined whether or not the inclination of the Y axis is within 2 ". If not, the process returns to step 73, and the stepping motors 50X and 50Y use the X, Y tilt table 2 until the inclination is within 2".
The tilt adjustment of 1 and 31 is performed. If the inclinations of the X and Y inclination tables 21 and 31 are within 2 ″ in step 74, step 7
In step 5, the non-contact motor 12 is driven and the laser 17 is operated. Next, the routine proceeds to step 76, where it is checked whether or not the non-contact motor 12 is rotating properly. If the rotation is proper, the process returns to step 70;
Stops, and the lighting of the laser light source 17 also stops, and the process returns to step 76.

The inclination amount of the X axis and the Y axis is larger than ± 3 ′ and ±
If it is less than 15 ', the circulation of steps 85-86-87-85 is performed until the amount of inclination becomes smaller than 3', and if it becomes smaller than 3 ', the flow shifts to step 73.
The operation is the same as when the amount of inclination is smaller than 3 '. Note that ±
If it is greater than 3 'and less than ± 15', the limit switch 29
If any of a, 29b, 37a, and 37b has failed and remains on, the process proceeds to steps 86-83-71-82, and the alarm lamp 42 is turned on.

If the storage battery voltage is low in step 70, the process proceeds to step 81, where the alarm lamp 42 for displaying the insufficient charge of the storage battery.
Is turned on, and the process returns to step 70.

The inclination of the laser planar body 10 is not less than 15 'which cannot be adjusted by the X and Y wedge members 22, 24, and the limit switches 29a, 29b, 37a, 37b
If any one of them is on, the process goes from step 71 to step 82 to turn on the alarm lamp 42 without rotating the non-contact motor 12.
Is turned on, and the limit switches 29a, 29b, 37a,
Direction in which one of 37b turns on and off (reverse rotation direction)
Next, the stepping motors 50X and 50Y are rotated in reverse (step 83). Limit switches 29a, 29b, 37
When both a and 37b are turned off, the process proceeds from step 71 to step 72. Since the inclination of the laser planar main body 10 is 15 'or more, the flow proceeds to step 84, the alarm lamp 42 is turned on without rotating the non-contact motor 12, and the stepping motors 50X and 50Y are adjusted in the direction of adjusting the inclination in step 85. Because of the rotation, any one of the limit switches 29a, 29b, 37a, 37b is turned on, and the routine proceeds to step 83 via step 86, and steps 71-72-84-85-86-83 are repeated. When the alarm lamp 42 is turned on, the tilt amount is 1
When it is found that the distance is 5 'or more, the level is adjusted to 15' or less by the manual leveling device 2.

The inclination of the laser planar body 10 is 15 'or more, and the limit switches 29a, 29b, 37a,
If all 37b are off, step 71-72-8
4-85-86-83-71 is repeated, and it is possible to know from the lighting of the alarm lamp 42 that the inclination amount is 15 'or more.
Within 5 '.

After the inclination of the laser planar main body 10 has fallen within 15 'by the manual leveling device 2, automatic leveling is performed as described above.

[0023]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, the inclined table can be automatically leveled with a simple structure, and the working efficiency is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away side view of one embodiment of the present invention applied to a laser planar.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view seen from the right side of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a schematic explanatory view of an XY tilt detector,
(B) is a positional relationship diagram between the light receiving element and the bubble shadow.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing tilt angle versus output characteristics of the XY tilt detector shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of one embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic leveling device 2 Manual leveling device 10 Laser planar main body 20 X tilt mechanism 21 X tilt table 22 X wedge member 25 X gantry 30 Y tilt mechanism 31 Y tilt table 33 Y gantry 34 Y wedge member 40 Microcomputer 50X, 50Y Stepping motor 60 XY
Tilt detector

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01C 15/00 G01C 9/00-9/36

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first tilt base supported on a first mount such that one axis can be tilted, and a second tilt base fixed on the first tilt base and orthogonal to the one axis on a second mount. A second tilting table whose axis is tiltably supported, and the first and second tiltable slides are respectively slidable in the other axis direction and the uniaxial direction;
First and second wedge members that respectively slide the first and second tilt tables by sliding into the lower surface of the first tilt table, and first and second drives that respectively slide the first and second wedge members. Means, a tilt detector installed on the second tilt table, for detecting tilt amounts of the first and second tilt tables, and the first and second driving means in accordance with a detected value of the tilt detector. Control means for controlling the amount of sliding of the first and second wedge members via the means to make the second inclined table horizontal. 2. The automatic leveling device according to claim 1, wherein said tilt detector is constituted by optical means. 3. A bubble tube in which bubbles and a transparent liquid are sealed in a transparent container having an upper inner surface formed into a spherical concave surface, and the optical means irradiates light toward the bubble tube from above or below. A light transmitting unit, a light receiving element for converting light transmitted through the bubble tube into an electric signal, and a calculating unit for calculating an inclination angle based on the electric signal, wherein the light receiving element is used for light detection for detecting a position of the bubble shadow within a movable range. 3. The automatic leveling device according to claim 2, wherein the automatic leveling device comprises a unit and a reference light receiving unit outside the movable range.