JPH07159157A - Light wave range finder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a light wave range finder which easily carrys out collimation work by securing viewfield without installing a light emission circuit and a light receiving circuit on a telescope and always provides the stable relation between a collimation axis and the distance measurement optical axis of the light without change of both axes due to the turn of the telescope. CONSTITUTION:A light wave range finder is equipped with a light emission circuit 15 and a light receiving circuit 16, and a telescope 12 is supported on a pair of pillar parts 11 so as to be turnable around a horizontal shaft. In the telescope 12, a dichroic prism 17 which directs the outgoing light supplied from the light emission circuit part 15 to an objective lens 21 and directs the incidence light of the objective lens 21 to the light receiving circuit 16 side is installed. In the pillar part 11, at least one between the light emission circuit part 15 and the light receiving circuit part 16 is installed, and at least one between both the circuits 15 and 16 turns together with the telescope 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lightwave rangefinder, and more particularly to a lightwave rangefinder having a dichroic prism, a light emitting circuit section and a light receiving circuit section in which a telescope rotates about a horizontal axis.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a telescope 31 provided on a lightwave rangefinder S is constructed so as to be rotatable around a horizontal support shaft 33 supported by a column portion 32, as shown in FIG. A light emitting circuit unit 35 and a light receiving circuit unit 36 are housed in the telescope unit 34 that holds the telescope 31.

However, the light emitting circuit section 35 and the light receiving circuit section 36
However, since the vertical height of the telescope unit 34 becomes large, the forward field of view between the column units 32 is obstructed and it is difficult to perform quick collimation work. Moreover, since the vertical height of the telescope unit 34 is large, the column unit 3 is adjusted accordingly.
2 has to be formed, which causes a problem that the vertical height of the entire lightwave distance meter S becomes large.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a dichroic prism 36 is installed on the telescope 31, and an optical path is formed in a rotary shaft portion 37 as a horizontal support shaft of the telescope 31, and a light emitting circuit portion 35 and The light receiving circuit unit 36 is arranged on one of the pillars 32, and the telescope 31 including the dichroic prism 36, the objective lens 38, etc. is rotated,
It has been proposed that the light transmitting / receiving circuit portions 35 and 36 are fixed inside the column portion 32.

As described above, in the technique shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the light emitting circuit portion 35 and the light receiving circuit portion 36 are provided on one of the pillar portions 32.
Since the same space of the rotating shaft portion 37 is used as the light emitting side optical path and the light receiving side optical path, there is a disadvantage that the light from the light emitting side optical path enters the light receiving side optical path as stray light. A light blocking plate 39 is disposed between the objective lens 38 and the objective lens 38. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 41 is a light emitting element as a light emitting portion, reference numeral 42 is a light receiving element as a light receiving portion,
Reference symbol L1 is an optical axis for distance measurement, reference symbol L2 is a collimation axis, and reference symbol 40 is an eyepiece as a collimation optical system.

In the technique configured as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as described above, since the light emitting circuit portion 35, the light receiving circuit portion 36 and the like are not housed in the telescope 31, the vertical height of the telescope 31 is small and the field of view is small. And the collimation work becomes easy.
In addition, the column portion 32 can be vertically lowered according to the vertical height of the telescope 31, and the vertical height of the optical distance meter S can be reduced.

[0007]

However, in the prior art shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the light emitting circuit section 35 and the light receiving circuit section 36 are provided.
Is fixed to the column portion 32, and the dichroic prism 36 and the like arranged in the telescope 31 rotate together with the telescope 31, so that the angle of reflection from the optical path formed in the rotation shaft portion 37 entering the dichroic prism 36 is small. However, there is a problem that the telescope 31 changes variously as the telescope 31 rotates, and accordingly the area of light transmission and reception using the objective lens 38 changes.

This will be further described with reference to FIG. 7 showing changes in the light transmitting / receiving area of the dichroic prism 36 as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows that when the light emitted from the light emitting circuit portion 35 which is the fixed portion is reflected by the dichroic prism 36,
The manner in which the light transmission area of the portion indicated by reference numeral 36a of the dichroic prism 36 changes in accordance with the rotation of the dichroic prism 36 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7, the objective lens 3 is changed in accordance with the change in the light transmitting / receiving area of the dichroic prism 36.
The area of the outgoing light and the incident light on 8 changes as the telescope 31 rotates. Therefore, the light shielding plate 39 is arranged between the dichroic prism 36 and the objective lens 38 so that the light reflected by the objective lens 38 and reflected by the dichroic prism 36 and emitted from the objective lens 38 does not enter the optical path on the light receiving side. Even if it is done, it is meaningless, and there is a possibility that the reflected light from the objective lens 38 may affect the measurement, as indicated by the symbol A in FIG.

Further, since the light transmitting / receiving area utilizing the objective lens 38 changes, the center of the rotary shaft portion 37 and the distance measuring optical axis L
If 1 does not completely match with high precision, the collimation axis L2 and the distance measuring optical axis L1 will change due to the rotation of the telescope 31. Therefore, making the center of the rotation axis of the telescope 31 coincident with the optical axis L1 for distance measurement of light is a very difficult task, and highly accurate processing is required for each component.

An object of the present invention is to provide a field of view without providing a light emitting circuit section and a light receiving circuit section in a telescope, thereby facilitating collimation work, and a collimation axis by rotation of the telescope and an optical axis for distance measurement of light. It is to provide an optical distance meter that can always obtain a stable relationship without changing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical distance meter in which stray light does not enter from the light emitting side optical path to the light receiving side optical path even when the rotating shaft portion is shared as the light emitting side optical path and the light receiving side optical path. .

[0013]

An optical distance meter according to the present invention comprises a light emitting circuit section and a light receiving circuit section, and a telescope is supported by a pair of column sections so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. In the light wave distance meter provided with a dichroic prism for directing the light emitted from the light emitting circuit section to the objective lens and for directing the light incident on the objective lens to the light receiving circuit section side, the light emitting circuit section and the light emitting circuit section are provided in the pillar section. At least one of the light receiving circuit section is provided, and at least one of the light emitting circuit section and the light receiving circuit section provided in the column section rotates together with the telescope.

Further, it is preferable to use an optical fiber as a light transmitting means between at least one of the light emitting circuit portion and the light receiving circuit portion provided in the column portion and the dichroic prism.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The members, arrangements, and the like described below do not limit the present invention and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a lightwave range finder S according to the present invention. Lightwave rangefinder S of this example
Includes a pair of pillars 11, a telescope 12, a casing 13 integrated with the telescope 12, a bearing 14, a light emitting circuit 15 and a light receiving circuit 16, and a dichroic prism 17 as main constituent elements. I am trying.

The pair of pillars 11 of this example are formed with a predetermined gap, and through holes 11a are formed in the facing surfaces of the pair of pillars 11, respectively, and the bearings are formed in the through holes 11a. 14 is formed. Also, a pair of pillars 1 of this example
A space for accommodating a casing portion 13 to be described later is formed on both sides of No. 1.

The telescope 12 of this example has an objective lens 21 and
An eyepiece lens section 22 provided at the rear end of the telescope 12 that constitutes the collimating optical system and a dichroic prism 17 are provided. The dichroic prism 17 is provided on the optical axis L2 facing the light emitting section of the light emitting circuit section 15 and the light receiving section of the light receiving circuit section 16 at the pivot position of the telescope 12 between the objective lens 21 and the collimating optical system. ing. The dichroic prism 17 reflects the light emitted from the light emitting portion to the objective lens 21 side and reflects the incident light from the objective lens 21 to the light receiving portion side.

In the telescope 12 of this example, a hollow cylindrical portion 18 extending orthogonally to the telescope 12 and constituting a horizontal axis portion of the telescope 12 is extended integrally to the left and right of the telescope 12, and At both ends of the hollow cylindrical portion 18, casing portions 13 that open to the hollow cylindrical portion 18 side are integrally formed.
Thereby, the telescope 12, the hollow cylindrical portion 18, and the casing portion 13 are configured to rotate together with the telescope 12.

The hollow cylindrical portion 18 of this embodiment is configured as a rotating shaft of the telescope 12, and is supported by a bearing portion 14 formed in the through holes 11a of the pair of column portions 11, and one of A light emitting circuit portion 15 is arranged in the casing portion 13 (in this example, the right side in FIG. 1), and a light receiving circuit portion 16 is arranged in the other casing portion 13 (in this example, the left side in FIG. 1). There is.

In the light emitting circuit section 15, a light emitting element (that is, a light emitting section) 15a is arranged toward the dichroic prism 17. In front of the light emitting portion of the light emitting portion 15a, an optical path switching device 23 is provided which switches the emitted light of the light emitting portion 15a between light (distance measuring light) toward the dichroic prism 17 and cal light by swinging. There is. Note that reference numeral 2
Reference numeral 9 is a reflection mirror for the cal optical path.

In the light receiving circuit section 16, a light receiving element (light receiving section) 16a is arranged toward the dichroic prism 17. A light amount adjustment filter (diaphragm) 24 for adjusting the amount of light received by the light receiving element 16a is arranged in front of the light receiving element 16a which is the light receiving portion.

In the optical distance meter S having the above-mentioned configuration, the light emitting circuit section 15 and the light receiving circuit section 16 are not provided in the telescope 12 arranged between the pair of column portions 11, so that the eyepiece portion of the telescope 12 can be seen from the eyepiece portion. The collimation work can be easily performed without disturbing the visual field when the is separated.

Further, since the hollow cylindrical portion 18 and the casing portion 13 rotate with the rotation of the telescope 12, the dichroic prism 17, the light emitting circuit portion 15 and the light receiving circuit portion 1
6 rotates together, and the collimation axis L2 by the rotation of the telescope 12
Thus, a stable relationship can always be obtained without changing the distance measuring optical axis L1 of the light. Further, in this example, since the light emitting circuit portion 15 and the light receiving circuit portion 16 are divided into left and right parts, stray light does not enter the light receiving side optical path from the light emitting side optical path.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the lightwave distance meter S according to the present invention. In the first embodiment, the light receiving circuit portion 16 and the light emitting circuit are provided on both the pillar portions 11. Although the example in which the portion 15 is provided separately is shown, in this example, the light receiving circuit portion 16 and the light emitting circuit portion 15 are provided in the casing portion 13 formed in the one pillar portion 11. . In the present example, the same members and arrangements as those in the above-mentioned embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 2, a light emitting circuit portion 15 and a light receiving circuit portion 16 are housed in one pillar portion 11. That is,
A casing portion 13 is integrally fixed to one end of a hollow cylindrical portion 18 serving as a shaft portion of the telescope 12. The casing portion 13 includes a light emitting circuit portion 15 and a light receiving circuit portion 1.
6 is accommodated and fixed.

A prism 25 is provided opposite to the dichroic prism 17 provided in the telescope 12, and between the prism 25 and the light emitting section 15a of the light emitting circuit section 15 and the light receiving section 16a of the light receiving circuit section 16. Are provided with optical fiber cables 26 and 27, respectively.
That is, one end of each of the optical fiber cables 26, 27 is
As shown by, the light emitting element 15a or the light receiving element 16a is connected to the light emitting element or the light receiving element, respectively, and the terminals 26a and 27a at the other end are arranged toward the prism 25.

With the above structure, the light emitted from the light emitting portion 15a is guided to the dichroic prism 17 via the optical fiber cable 26 and the prism 25, reflected by the dichroic prism 17, and then the objective lens 2
Head to 1. On the other hand, the light incident on the objective lens 21 is reflected by the dichroic prism 17, and the prism 25,
It is guided to the light receiving portion 16 a via the optical fiber cable 27.

For this reason, the hollow cylindrical portion 1 serving as the rotating shaft of the telescope 12 has the same effects as the above embodiment.
The optical path formed in 8 is the optical fiber cable 26, 2
7, the circuit units 15 and 16 including the light transmitting / receiving elements 15a and 16a connected to the optical fiber cables 26 and 27.
Is arranged on the pillar portion 11, but since it rotates in the same manner as the rotation of the telescope 12, the optical fiber cables 26 and 27 are not twisted at all, and the optical fiber cable 2
In the telescope 12, one end of the objective lens 2 is attached to the objective lens 2
The optical distance meter S can be designed and assembled very easily because it can be easily arranged at the focal point position 1.

In each of the above embodiments, the light emitting circuit section 15
Both the light receiving circuit section 16 and the light receiving circuit section 16 are housed in one pillar section 11. However, one of the light emitting circuit section 15 and the light receiving circuit section 16 is housed in the pillar section 11, and the other one is housed in the telescope 12.
The structure may be accommodated inside. With this configuration, the field of view of either the upper or lower side of the telescope 12 is expanded,
As described above, the collimation work can be performed without disturbing the visual field when the eyes are separated.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, at least one of the light emitting circuit portion and the light receiving circuit portion is provided in the column portion supporting the telescope, and the light emitting circuit portion and the light receiving circuit portion provided in the column portion are provided. At least one of the parts rotates together with the telescope equipped with the dichroic prism.Therefore, even if the telescope rotates, the transmission / reception area of the dichroic prism does not change, and the collimation axis due to the rotation of the telescope and the distance measurement optical axis Does not change, a stable relationship is always obtained, and the sight is secured without providing the light emitting circuit section and the light receiving circuit section in the telescope, and the collimation work can be easily performed.

Further, since the optical fiber cable is used as a light transmitting means between at least one of the light emitting circuit portion and the light receiving circuit portion provided in the column portion and the dichroic prism, the rotating shaft portion is used as the light emitting side optical path and the light receiving side. It eliminates the inconvenience of stray light entering the light-receiving side optical path from the light-emitting side optical path that could have occurred when shared as a side-side optical path, and because the optical fiber cable is easy to arrange, the telescope is slim and collimation work is easy. Easy to do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a lightwave distance meter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of a lightwave distance meter according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of a conventional lightwave rangefinder.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of a lightwave distance meter showing a conventional example.

5 is a configuration diagram of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a dichroic prism.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a light transmitting / receiving area when the dichroic prism rotates.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 column part 11a through hole 12 telescope 13 casing part 14 bearing part 15 light emitting circuit part 15a light emitting element (light emitting part) 16 light receiving circuit part 16a light receiving element (light receiving part) 17 dichroic prism 18 hollow cylindrical part 21 objective lens 22 eyepiece lens part 23 Optical path switching device 24 Light intensity adjustment filter (iris) 25 Prism 26, 27 Optical fiber cable L1 Distance measuring optical axis L2 Collimation axis S Lightwave distance meter

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kunitoshi Ogawa 260-63 Yanagicho, Hase, Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture Sokia Atsugi Factory (72) Inventor Norio Uchida 260-63, Hase, Yanagimachi, Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture Sokia Corporation Atsugi factory

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A light emitting circuit unit and a light receiving circuit unit are provided, and a telescope is supported by a pair of pillars so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis, and light emitted from the light emitting circuit unit is provided in the telescope. In the light wave range finder provided with a dichroic prism that directs the objective lens incident light to the light receiving circuit section side, at least one of the light emitting circuit section and the light receiving circuit section is provided in one of the pillar sections, At least one of the light emitting circuit unit and the light receiving circuit unit provided in the column portion rotates together with the telescope. 2. An optical fiber is used as a light transmitting means between at least one of a light emitting circuit portion and a light receiving circuit portion provided in the column portion and the dichroic prism. Lightwave rangefinder.