JPS6122280A - Optical distance measuring device having measuring process display function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to obtain reference information for judging a measuring condition, by dividing the measuring process of an optical distance measuring device into plural processes and displaying the practice advance degree of each process during the practice of said process in a confirmable state. CONSTITUTION:Change-over switches 12, 32 change over the frequency for energizing a light emitting diode 14 to 75KHz (long wavelength mode) and 15MHz (short wavlength mode) and the phase difference of a receiving signal and a reference signal is measured by two light paths, that is, an external light path 20 formed by a chopper 18 and an internal light path 22. This phase difference signal is outputted to an operation control apparatus 16 from a phase measuring instrument 36 and the count value corresponding to the phase difference is calculated. This measurement is divided into plural measuring processes and the practice advance degree of each process is displayed on a LED display apparatus. By this method, objectie information necessary for measurement is obtained and the psychological adverse effect to a measuring person is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a light wave distance meter having the function of displaying the progress of a measurement process.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, light wave distance meters are known that are equipped with an indicator such as a lamp to indicate when a measurement is in progress. When conducting a survey using such a light wave distance meter, when measurement results cannot be obtained in a short time due to poor measurement conditions such as weather conditions, the measurement indicator lamp as described above simply remains lit. So, how long should the measurer wait to get the measurement results?
Or, the user is left in a state of anxiety because he/she has no idea what kind of condition is causing the measurement result to not be obtained. Also,
Each time the conventional indicator lamp during measurement continues to light up, it means that measurement is impossible, but the measurer has no idea to what extent measurement is impossible. For example, it is important in the measurement schedule to determine whether the measurement of the distance between two points, which must be measured on that day according to the survey schedule, should be given up on that day or whether it will be possible to measure it if one waits for a while. Experience has shown that even if measurement is not possible at that moment or time, it is often the case that after a short period of time the measurement conditions recover and measurement becomes possible. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to obtain objective information necessary to make such judgments.

Therefore, the present invention aims to reduce the psychological adverse effects on the measurer and provide reference information for determining measurement conditions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a light wave distance meter with a function that requires the progress status of the measurement process.

According to the present invention, the measurement process of the optical distance meter is divided into three parts, for example, a long wavelength mode measurement process, a short wavelength mode measurement process, and a measurement value digit matching and combination process,
The light wave distance 81 is configured to visually display the progress of each process during execution. More preferably, the measurement process of the optical distance meter is configured to include a long wavelength mode measurement process, a long wavelength mode measurement value checking process, a short wavelength mode measurement process, and a short wavelength mode measurement value checking process, and during execution of each process, A signal from the microprocessor energizes the display. The display device uses, for example, a measurement result display device, and as each measurement process progresses, the energized display elements of the display device are sequentially shifted from the lowest digit to show the progress of the measurement process. Display.

Embodiments of the optical distance meter according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a light wave distance meter. At the light wave distance 51 shown in FIG.
is I 5 Mllz, 75Ml1z, 3.75 K1
)z, 15MIIz and 7
A signal of 5Kllz is supplied to the light emitting diode 14- through the changeover switch 12. The light emitted from the light emitting diode 1) 4 is divided into an external optical path 20 and an internal optical path 22 by a chopper 18 controlled by an arithmetic and control unit 16.
I'll be beaten. The light directed into the external optical path 20 is reflected by a reflective mirror, such as a prism 24 placed at the target, and is received by a light receiving diode 28 via a variable optical attenuator 26, while the light passing through the internal optical path 22 is The light is also received by the light receiving diode 28 via the variable optical attenuator 26. The signal from photodiode 28 is supplied to mixer 30 .

The mixer 30 receives 3.75 K1) from the signal that energizes the light emitting diode 14 sent from the synthesizer 34 via the changeover switch 32 controlled by the arithmetic and control unit 16.
z low frequency signal, mixes it with the signal from the light receiving diode 28, converts it into a received signal of 3.75 Kllz, and outputs it to the phase measuring device 36. The phase measuring device 36 is
The transmitter 10 further receives a 3.75 KHz signal as a reference signal, and outputs a phase difference signal between the received signal and the reference signal to the arithmetic and control unit 16. The aforementioned synthesizer 34 is
Receives signals of three frequencies from the transmitter 10, 14.99
The signals of 625 MHz and 71.25 K1) are output to the changeover switch 32.

Next, the operation will be schematically explained. First, selector switch 12
and 32 are switched from the position shown in FIG.
is energized (long wavelength mode).

Then, while the chopper 18 is forming the external optical path, a phase difference signal between the received signal from the mixer 30 and the reference signal from the transmitter 10 is output from the phase measuring device 36 to the arithmetic and control unit 16, and the The control device 16 determines and stores a count value corresponding to the phase difference. Next, Chopper 18
Even during the period when the internal optical path is being formed, the arithmetic and control unit 16 calculates and stores 81 numerical values corresponding to the phase difference based on the phase difference signal between the received signal and the reference signal. after that,
The arithmetic and control device 16 calculates the difference between the two stored values and calculates the distance based on the difference.

In the case of measurement using a long wavelength signal of 75 Kllz, 1/10
When measured with an accuracy of 2000m, the distance is 2000m.
It can be measured with a resolution of cm.

Next, the changeover switches 12 and 32 are switched to the upper position as shown in FIG. 1, and the light emitting diode 14 is energized with a signal having a frequency of 15 MHz (short wavelength mode').

Then, as in the case of 75KIlz, the count values corresponding to the phase differences are calculated and stored for each of the external optical path and the internal optical path, and the distance is calculated based on the difference between them. 15Mt
In the case of measurements using short wavelength signals of 1z, measurements can be made with an accuracy of 1/10000 and distances up to 10 m can be measured with a resolution of 1 mm. Then, we obtained 2 in this way.
For example, one of the measured values obtained in long wavelength mode
Correct the value above 0m with the measured value obtained in short wavelength mode,
Combine both. This makes it possible to measure distances up to 2 km with an accuracy of one fin.

In the above operation, two or more measurements, for example, five measurements, are performed in each of the long wavelength mode and short wavelength mode, and the difference between the maximum value and minimum value of the five measured values is within a predetermined tolerance value. A check is made to see if the value exists, and if it is within the allowable value, the average of the five measured values is calculated and the average value is taken as the measured value for that mode. If the difference between the maximum and minimum values exceeds the allowable value, the maximum and minimum values are rounded down, two more measurements are taken, and the two new measurements are combined with the previous three remaining measurements. The maximum value and minimum value are extracted from among them, and the above-described process is repeated again.

For details on the basic configuration of a light wave distance meter, see U.S. Patent No. 3,619.058 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1983-130.
Please refer to No. 67.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the arithmetic and control unit 16 of FIG. 1. The phase difference signal from phase measurement device 36 is applied to one input of AND gate 40 .

The other hand of the AND gate 40 includes, for example, 15M1 from the oscillator 10 in order to count the pulse width of the phase difference signal.
The lz signal is supplied as clock signal A. AN
r) The output of the gate is applied to the up/down counter 42. Phase measuring device 36 further applies a timing pulse synchronized with the reference signal to timing counter 44 .

When the timing counter 44 counts, for example, 200 timing pulses constituting one measurement in each of the internal mode and the external mode, it outputs a prohibition signal to the phase measuring device 36, and the phase measuring device 36 The output of the phase difference signal to the AND gate 40 is stopped. Furthermore, the timing counter 44 has a count of 200.
When reached, an interrupt signal is output to the microprocessor 46.

The microprocessor 46 is provided with a mode changeover switch 48 for selecting eggplant mode 1, coarse measurement mode, and precision measurement mode, and a meter/feet changeover switch 50 for selecting the distance display unit. Data is inputted via the data bus 46a and the output port 54, and control signals are outputted via the data bus 46a and the output port 54, and display data is directly outputted to the display device 56.

The input port 52 has an offset switch 58 connected to the gate 6.
0, PPM switch (weather correction switch) 6
2 is connected through a gate 64, and an external optical path light amount level signal and an internal optical path light amount level signal are connected through a gate 66, respectively. Microprocessor 46 is further provided with memory 68, such as persistent memory (ROM), and memory 70, such as random access memory (RAM). The output of the amplifier down counter 42 is input to the memory 70 via the input port 52 and the data bus 46a and is stored therein. memory 68
A program to be executed by the microprocessor 46 is programmed in the .

Gates 60, 64 and 66 and up/down counter 42 are connected to data bus 4 by microprocessor 46.
6a, output port 54 and decoder 72. Furthermore, the microprocessor 46 is connected to the data bus 4.
6a1 output port 54 and hasher amplifier 74.76.
Activation signals are outputted to the buzzer 80, the drive motor 82 of the chopper 18, and the changeover switches 12 and 32 through the switches 78, respectively.

The display device 56 includes an address counter 86, an address selector 88, and a memory 90, such as a random access memory.
, a decoder/trier 92, an LED display 94 consisting of, for example, seven display elements, an address decoder 96,
Further, drive amplifiers 98 and 100 are provided. The address counter 86 receives a clock signal B from a clock pulse generator (not shown) and outputs an address signal corresponding to each display element of the LED display 94 at a constant cycle. The data to be displayed is transferred to an address selector 8 which receives an address signal from the microprocessor 46 from the memory 70.
The data is input to the address of the memory 90 specified by 8 via the data bus 46a and stored. When a series of data is thus transferred from memory 70 to memory 90 and stored, address selector 88 receives a periodically changing address signal from address counter 86.
The data in the memory 90 at the address specified by is sequentially read out and output to the decoder/]-driver 92, where it is converted into a signal of the type that drives the LED display and sent to each display element of the LED display 94. The output and read decimal point information is input to the LED display 94 via the amplifier 98. On the other hand, an address decoder 96 that receives an address signal from the address counter 86 sequentially drives each display element of the LED display specified by the address signal at high speed, and transfers the data from the memory 90 to the LED display. Display it.

Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 will be explained. The fixed memory 1a of the memory 68 stores all programs for the operations described below, which are sequentially read out and executed by the microprocessor 46.

Now, when the mote selector switch 48 is set to the test mode and the apparatus is started, the processes shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C are executed. When the test mode starts at 1, the scissors 80 are first reset, and then the address of the memory 70 where the eggplant 1 data is to be written is designated. For example, address Xo is designated. Then, the output boat 54 and the amplifier 78 are set to short wavelength mode.
The changeover switches 12 and 32 are switched to the short wavelength mode via the . Furthermore, the internal mode is set, a drive signal is supplied to the output port 82 via the output port 54 and the amplifier 76, and the internal optical path 22 is established by the chopper. There, the internal light level is checked, and if the L/Hel is normal, the address Xo of the memory 70 is
When the level is below the reference value, 1 is stored at the location, and the address number is decreased by one for storing the next data, that is, the address (Xo-
1).

Next, the AGC function (not shown) is operated to check whether the light amount level is normal. This AGC function check utilizes the fact that in internal mode, the input signal level of the AGC circuit is within the specified level range due to the circuit configuration, and checks whether the control voltage of the AGC circuit is within the corresponding range. I am deciding whether If it is normal, zero is stored in the address (Xo-1) of the memory 70, and if it is defective, it is stored in 2, and then the next address (Xo-2)
Specify. After that, check the counter count in the short wavelength mode in the internal mode, and if it is normal, the memory 7
Input 0 to address 0 (XO-2), and if it is defective, enter 4 manually and specify the next address (XO-3).

This counter counting check is performed by counting 200 phase difference signal names in the internal optical path using the counter 42 and storing them in the memory 70 during the above-mentioned internal light level checking and AGC function checking.
In step 6, these two pieces of data are subjected to arithmetic processing to determine the dispersion.

Next, the internal mode is switched to the external mode, and it is checked whether the light intensity level is above the specified value. If it is above the specified value, the buzzer 80 is sounded to signal to the operator that the light wave distance meter and prism 24 are illuminated. On the other hand, if the value is below the specified value, the buzzer 80 is muted to signal that the target is not aimed, and the process proceeds to the next step. In that step,
Check whether it is in the long wavelength mode, and if it is not in the long wavelength mode, switch to the long wavelength mode, return to step B of Figure 3A, switch the external mode to the internal mode, and set the light intensity level of the internal optical path in the long wavelength mode. To check.

If it is normal, input zero to the address (Xo-3) of the memory 70; if it is defective, enter l manually and enter the next address (Xo-3).
o-4). Next, the AGC function is checked on the internal optical path in the long wavelength mode, and the result is stored in the address (Xo-4) of the memory 70. Then, in the long wavelength mode, check the number 81 of the counter using the internal optical path, and if it is normal, the address (X
o-5), enter zero, and enter 4 if it is defective. Next, the mode is switched to the external mode, and it is checked whether the light intensity level is equal to or higher than the specified value.Then, it is checked whether the mode is in the long wavelength mode, and if it is in the long wavelength mode, the process proceeds to the next step. That is, it is checked whether the importer 58 is normal or not, and if it is normal, zero is input into the address (Xo-6) of the memory 70, and if it is defective, 2 is input. This off-set inch check is to check whether each digit is equal to or less than "9" by using the same switch in a BCD code. Then P.P.
Check the M switch 62, and if it is normal, enter zero in the address (Xo -7) of the memory 70, and if it is defective, enter 1.
Enter.

This PPM switch check uses the fact that the switch is a rotary switch and only one contact is ON, and when two or more contacts are connected or
If neither is connected, an error will occur.

After that, check the mode switch 48, and if it is normal, address (X) of the memory 70.

-8) is stored as zero, and in the case of a defect, 2 is written in 1a.

This mode switch check uses a 3-mote toggle switch; when one contact is connected, it is in test mode, when the other is connected, it is in rough measurement mode, and when both are connected, it is in test mode. If not, use precision measurement mode. Therefore, if both are connected, an error will occur.

Next, it is checked whether the meter/feet changeover switch 50 is normal, and if it is normal, the address (X
Write zero in o-9) and store 4 in case of defective j1).

This meter/feet switch check uses a two-mode toggle switch; if one is connected, it is meter, and if the other is connected, it is feed 1-. Therefore, if both are not connected, an error will occur.

R1 & checks whether all the values stored in addresses Xo~(Xo-9) are zero, and if they are all zero, the address "8" of the memory 90 corresponding to each digit of the display 94 is checked. '' manually, display ``18'' on all 7-digit display elements of the LED display, and check each display element at the same time.

If the stored values at addresses Xo to (Xo-9) are all non-zero, the following calculation is performed.

M(Xo-9)4M(Xo-8)4M(Xo-7) =
M(nt) ・・・・-filM(Xo-6)+1X
o-5)+1Xo-3) -M(L) --(21M(
Xo-2)4M(Xo-1)+MXo =M(Ds
) ...(31) Then, the calculation result of formula (1) is stored in the address D of the memory 90 corresponding to the display element of the most significant digit of the LED display 94, and the formula (
2) and formula (3) are stored in addresses D and D5 of the memory 90 corresponding to the display elements of the second and third digits from the top of the LED display 94, respectively, and the LED display Display the check result in the top three digits of 94. FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the numerical value of each digit and the check result. The numerical value of the defect display is 1.2.4, and since there are no combinations of two or three sums that have the same value, the operator can recognize that something is defective. For example, when rl 50J is displayed, it can be seen that there is a defect in the PPM check, a decrease in the light amount in the internal optical path in the long wavelength mode, and a defect in the counter 1 count result in the internal optical path in the long wavelength mode.

Since it is sufficient to check the functionality of AGC in short wavelength mode, checking in long wavelength mode may be skipped. Further, although the check results are displayed as three-digit numbers, they may be displayed separately on nine display elements.

Furthermore, the target of the function check can be arbitrarily selected.

Next, the operation when the mode selector switch 48 is switched to the precision all+constant mode will be described. In addition, for measurements in coarse measurement mode, measurements are performed twice each in long and multiple wavelength modes in the precision measurement mode, and after determining the reliability, the first measurement value of each wavelength is processed. Since it is 1Q41u to do (that is, not calculate the average value), it will be omitted. (In addition, in the rough measurement mode, the measurement process is not displayed.) In the precision measurement mode, the measurement program set in the memory 68 is divided into five measurement processes.
In the measurement process, five distance measurements are carried out in long wavelength mode, in the second measurement process the reliability of the five measurements in long wavelength mode is determined and the average value is determined, and in the third measurement process the short and long distance measurements are determined. Five distance measurements are carried out in wavelength mode, in a fourth measurement process the reliability of the five measurements in short wavelength mode is determined and the average value is determined, and in a fifth measurement process in long wavelength mode. Digit alignment and combination processing is performed between the average value of the measured values and the average value of the measured values in the short wavelength mode, and the measured values are displayed.

More specifically, as shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5A to 5C, at the start of the precision measurement mode, a display timer (not shown) is first reset. This display timer sets the time during which the distance measurement value is displayed, and when displaying the measurement value on the display 94, it is set approximately equal to the normal measurement time required in the precision measurement mode, about 6 seconds. If the measurement conditions are poor and the time required for measurement exceeds 6 seconds, the display timer is reset, the display of the previous measurement value is erased, and the measurement process currently being executed is displayed on the display 94. Then set the measurement process number to 1”
t# is stored in the memory 70. Then, it is set to the long wavelength mode and the buzzer 80 is held in the reset state. Thereafter, the reset state of the display timer is confirmed, and the measurement process is displayed on the LED display 94. That is, in this state, the measurement process number is 2, and for example, an energizing signal is output and stored in the memory 90 at a location corresponding to the lowest decimal point of the LED display 94 based on the memory 70. Then, the decimal point of the least significant digit of the LED display 94 is lit. This indicates to the operator that the first measurement process is currently being executed. Next, the external mode is entered and the phase difference of the external mode measurement is counted. This is controlled by the timing counter 44 as described above, for example, 200
A count value corresponding to the pulse width of each phase difference pulse is obtained and temporarily stored. After that, during the counting period, it is checked whether the amount of external light is appropriate. If it is defective, the memory is erased, and the phase difference is counted again in external mode measurement. If it is appropriate, it is switched to internal mode. It will be done. Then, the phase difference in the internal mode is counted and temporarily stored, and the difference between the counted value in the external mode and the counted value in the internal mode is determined and recorded in the memory 70 as actual distance data. Next, it is determined whether the actual distance data stored in the memory 70 has reached 5 pieces, and if it has not reached 5 pieces, the external mode center is returned again as shown in FIG. 5A, and the actual distance data is stored. The measurement-calculation process is repeated. When the number reaches five, "+1" is added to the measurement process number, and the measurement process number stored in the memory 70 is set to "2". Then, check the reset status of the display timer and display the measurement process. At this time, the memory in the memory 90 is erased, and an energizing signal is output based on the memory in the memory 70 to a location in the memory 90 corresponding to the decimal point one digit above the lowest digit of the LED display 94. The decimal point of the LED display 94 at the digit above the least significant digit is lit.

Then, in order to judge the reliability of the measurement results, that is, the dispersion2, the maximum value and minimum value are selected from among the five pieces of actual distance data stored in the memory 70, and the selected maximum value and minimum value are It is determined whether the difference with the value is less than or equal to the allowable value ε. If the tolerance value ε is exceeded, delete the maximum and minimum values stored in the memory 70, add "1-1" to the measurement process number, return to E in FIG. Repeat the measurement two more times. Therefore,
At this time, the decimal point of the least significant digit of the LED display 94 is lit again. When the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is less than or equal to the allowable value ε, the average value of the five actual distance data is calculated and stored in the memory 70, and then r − is added to the measurement process number.
1-Add IJ.

After that, it is determined whether or not the short wavelength mode measurement has been completed, and if it has not been completed, the switch is made to the short wavelength mode' and the process returns to the step shown in FIG. Find the average value. During measurement in the short wavelength mode, the decimal point at the bottom third digit of the I, Er) display 94 is lit, and during the dispersion judgment and average value calculation of the five actual distance data in the short wavelength mode, the L The decimal point in the fourth lower digit of the ED display 94 is lit.

When the measurement in the short wavelength mode and the calculation of the average value are completed in this way, the measurement process is displayed as shown in FIG. 5C, and the decimal point at the fifth digit from the bottom of the LED display 94 is lit. Ru. Then, it is determined in the following manner whether or not the average values of the actual distance data in the long wavelength mode and the short wavelength mode stored in the memory 70 can be digit-matched and combined, and the digit-matching combination is executed.

As mentioned above, the measurement range in long wavelength mode is 0.
．． The measurement range in short wavelength mode is 0.000 m to 9.999 m. Therefore, the digit combination is performed using m of the data obtained in quantity mode.
Compare the numerical values of the unit digits and correct them so that they match. However, if the amount of correction is large, it is considered that the measurement data is unreliable, so in that case, all measurement data is discarded, the process returns to G in FIG. 5A, and the entire measurement process is executed again. For example, if the maximum correction amount is limited to 2 m, the value of m fp for long wavelength data and m for short wavelength data
1) When the difference from the number I6 at 'L' is less than 2 m, the short wavelength data is prioritized and both data are combined. For example, if the long wavelength data average value is ]IO,fi+ and the short wavelength data average value is 8.215 m, the combined value is 108.2]5 m.

After the loss-lo combination is completed in this way, offset compensation iE and I) PM compensation itE are applied to the composite value, and if necessary, meter/soi-1 exchange is performed.

Then, set the display timer L7, set the buzzer 80 to let the operator know that the measurement has been completed, and transfer the measured value to the machine 3. ■, El') is displayed on the display 94.

Execution of the measurement process as described above; 1. The relationship between the display of the measurement block being executed and the display of one process on the ICD display is shown in FIG.

Also, as shown in Figure 6, instead of lighting the decimal point, the 7th
As shown in the figure, as the measurement process progresses, L
It is also possible to light up the central horizontal segments of the display elements of the ED display sequentially starting from the lowest position and proceeding to -C. In this case, it is possible to create the illusion that the illuminated horizontal bar of the LED display is lengthening as the measurement process progresses. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the number of lit decimal points can be increased. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, the number of the measurement process in progress may be displayed in the lowest digit.

Alternatively, the measurement process may be divided into three instead of five, the first measurement process and the second measurement process may be combined into one, and the third measurement process and the fourth measurement process may be combined into one. . Conversely, it is also possible to display the executed measurement process by dividing the measurement process into six or more, for example seven.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a light wave distance meter, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an arithmetic and control unit in FIG. 1, and FIGS. A flowchart of the operation when the optical distance meter shown in the figure is in the test mode, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the display mode of the check result when the light wave distance meter is in the test mode, FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 50.
) 1. Flowchart 1 of the operation of the precision measurement mote of the optical distance meter shown in Fig. 1, and Figs. 6, 7, and 8.
9 and 9 are diagrams each showing a measurement process display mode. 10... Transmitter 12.32... Changeover switch 1
4... Light emitting diode 16... Arithmetic control device 1
8... Chopper 20... External optical path 22... Internal optical path 24... Prism 26... Variable optical attenuator 28... Light receiving diode 30... Mixer
34...Synthesizer 36...Phase measuring device 43.
...Up/down counter 44...Timing counter 46...Microprocessor 94...LED display Patent applicant Tokyo Kogaku Kikai Co., Ltd.? +r
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14671

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a light wave distance meter configured to perform distance measurement using multiple wavelengths according to a pre-programmed process, the above process is combined with each wavelength mode process and measured value digit matching according to the multiple wavelengths. A light wave distance meter having a measurement process display function, characterized in that it is divided into processes, and when each process is being executed, the degree of execution progress of the process is visually recognized on a display. . (2) Each mode process includes a long wavelength mode measurement process, a long wavelength mode measurement value checking process, a short wavelength mode measurement process, and a short wavelength mode measurement value checking process. A light wave distance meter that has a measurement process display function as described in .