JPS63124911A - Automatic collimating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To measure the movement of a reflector automatically and continuously by reflecting light projected from an optical range finder by the reflector, photodetecting it again by the optical range finder, and detecting whether or not there is the reflected light from the reflector. CONSTITUTION:If the reflector A moves and becomes out of sight at the time of the measurement of displacement and there is no data signal from a light wave range finder 32, a search coordinate setting means operates to find the reflector A. When the center of the reflector A is only a little out of sight, a center setting means is actuated to further collimate the center of the reflector A. Then respective angle coordinate data on the current swivel and elevation are stored temporarily in a coordinate data buffer 45c and range data obtained by the light wave range finder is stored in a range data buffer 45b when judged as normal data without being detected by an error detecting means; and those data are processed by an arithmetic controller 44.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Object of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatic aiming device that can always accurately recognize the position of a reflector that moves relatively slowly.

In particular, a reflector is attached to a moving object to automatically follow the object's movement and aim at it, and the object moves relatively slowly, for example, once per hour.
This device can be used to measure changes over time in buildings and movement on surfaces at landslide prediction sites, which is a field where it is necessary to accurately recognize movement in millimeters, and as a measuring device for other purposes.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when surveying for construction work or other purposes, an optical rangefinder is used to measure the distance from a reference point to the target object, etc., but when repeating measurements, the measurer has to adjust the aim each time. It required some re-alignment work.

Furthermore, the same applies when the object moves or when measuring a moving object.

In order to simplify the labor required for these measurements, automatic surveying devices have been proposed that have an automatic tracking function so that the light beam of the optical rangefinder always points toward the target point of the object. Light-receiving elements, such as solar cells divided into a grid, are arranged on an object, and the movement of the object is detected by detecting the movement of the light beam at the coordinate position on the light-receiving surface. The movement of the object was tracked by correcting the positional relationship between the rangefinder and the light-receiving element.

[The turning point that the invention is trying to solve] According to the prior art as described above, there is a drawback that an electrical element is used in the object to be measured, and therefore an electrical circuit device must also be provided.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention solves the above-mentioned problems by constructing a passive type reflector attached to the object to be measured that does not require an electrical device such as a power source, and automatically following the movement of the reflector. The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic aiming device that can accurately recognize the position of the target object.

(2) Structure of the Invention [Means for Solving Problems] This invention provides a reflector with retroactivity, an optical range finder, and a device for rotating the optical range finder in a turning direction and an elevation direction. a stepping motor as an actuator of the driving mechanism; a stepping motor drive control means for controlling the stepping motor; and a control device for controlling the stepping motor drive control means. , an arithmetic and control unit, and an rg that stores angular coordinate data of the turning direction and the elevation direction of the optical range finder.
M target data storage means, distance data storage means for storing distance data measured by the optical rangefinder, reference data storage means for previously storing the coordinate data and distance data as reference data, and the coordinate data and distance data. It has calculation means for comparing and determining distance data with the reference data, and a control program memory that stores control procedures for the arithmetic and control unit, and also calculates the distance within the measurement distance range and the angular coordinate of 70% of the diameter of the reflector. a search coordinate setting means having a search angle table having data, a search direction table having data determining a search direction for moving the sight to the measurement point, and a center setting means for calculating and setting the center point of the reflector. It is equipped with an automatic aiming device.

〔principle〕

Next, first, the principle of the automatic aiming device of the present invention will be explained.

The basic idea of this invention is to reflect light projected from an optical range finder on a reflector, receive the light again on the optical range finder, and detect the presence or absence of the light reflected by the reflector. FIGS. 1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the principle of the automatic aiming device of the present invention.

The reflector A in this invention is a reflex reflector as shown in FIG.
A reflector is used that can reflect the light in the original direction even if the angle of incidence of the light on the reflector A changes.

As shown in FIG.
Suppose that it moves to the position ′. If the previously aimed position is point 1, the reflector A' will naturally be directed from point 1, and no light will be reflected. The device then moves the aim to point 2 and takes the measurement again. If no reflection is obtained at point 2, score 31 points 4. ...Expanding the measurement range in a spiral pattern.

Here, the interval between each point is set to 0.7 times the diameter of reflector A. This is because if measurements are continued at this interval, no reflector will be overlooked. In the example in Figure 1, 1
The second time I searched for the reflector.

Further, the present invention has a function of searching for the position of the reflector A' and aiming at the center point of the reflector A'.

This will be explained using the example shown in FIG. First, point 21 in Figure 2
There is a reflected light at the 0 point 21, which is assumed to be aimed at the 0 point 21, but the device shifts the projection of light laterally, searches for the position of the point 22 where no reflected light is obtained, and stores this coordinate. put.

Next, the device similarly recognizes point 23 and stores the previously stored point 2.
From the coordinates of point 2 and point 23, the coordinates of point 24, which is in the middle of both coordinates, are calculated. The device recognizes the coordinates of this point 24 as the lateral center of reflector A'.

After that, similarly to the above, the coordinates of points 259 and 26 in the vertical direction are obtained, and the coordinates of point 27 in the middle of reflector A' are obtained.

As described above, the present invention has the function of searching for the reflector and the M1 function of aiming at the center point of the reflector.

Here, the former is defined as a search function as a search coordinate setting means, and the latter is defined as a center function as a center setting means for calculating and setting the center point of the reflector.

By constantly repeating these two functions, a device is provided that constantly follows the center point of a reflector attached to a moving object.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately aim the position of the reflector, and when the position of the reflector moves, it is possible to follow the movement of the reflector and accurately recognize the position.

Furthermore, the displacement obtained with a conventional optical rangefinder using a reflecting mirror is only a displacement in the measurement direction of the rangefinder.

In other words, the place where the rangefinder is installed must be in the same direction as the direction of movement. However, in this invention, the field of view from observation point C in FIG. In this case, measurements can be made from, for example, nine points in open visibility that are not in the predicted direction of movement.

In other words, since the coordinates of the center of the reflector can always be recognized in this invention, no matter which direction the reflector moves relative to the measurement direction, the movement can be detected and the amount of movement can be quantitatively determined. This is the translation.

〔Example〕

As an embodiment of the present invention, an example will be described in which the present invention is applied to a ground movement detection device that measures and detects minute movement of the surface ground, which is a sign of collapse, in order to predict landslides.

As a ground movement detection device, a system that uses a light wave range finder as an optical range finder to automatically and continuously measure distance and observe position can be considered.

FIG. 4 shows an outline of the configuration of a ground movement detection device embodying the present invention, and FIG. 5 shows an example of its circuit.

In FIG. 4, the reflector A is a flex reflector and is attached to a stake 31, and installation is done by inserting the stake into the ground.

32 is a light wave rangefinder, which measures the distance to the reflector A;
The measurement data can be electrically outputted, and since it is generally known, the details thereof will be omitted.

33 is a drive 1a#f for moving the light wave rangefinder in the direction of rotation or elevation; 34 is a stepping motor for rotation;
Reference numeral 35 denotes a stepping motor for elevation, which is placed on a sturdy tripod 36 for surveying, so that it can overlook the reflector.

37 is a control device, which is composed of a one-chip microcomputer or microprocessor having input/output functions and a storage device.

38 is a drive control device as a stepping motor drive control means for controlling the stepping motor 34 for turning, and 39 is a drive control device as a stepping motor drive control means for controlling the stepping motor 35 for elevation. These drive control devices 38, 39 are controlled by the control device 37 described above.

40 is a telescope as a visual sight attached to the light wave range finder 32, which is used to assist in initially aiming roughly at the reflector; therefore,
Reference numeral 41 is an operating device, which is not necessarily required and does not necessarily have to be a telescope, by which the control device 37 is manually controlled. Reference numeral 47 denotes a display device for displaying data such as measurement data by the light wave distance meter 32 and calculation results by the control device 37, and is composed of, for example, an LCD display element.

FIG. 5 shows a circuit diagram of this embodiment, in which the operating device 41
The arrow keys 42 (-, -, ↑, ↓) are used by the user to manually move the light wave rangefinder 3 to aim at the position of the reflector.
This is an instruction switch for moving 2 in the turning direction or in the elevation direction. Reference numeral 43 denotes an entry key, which is a switch for manually inputting the aimed measurement point and then starting automatic tracking operation.

Control equipment! 37 is composed of an arithmetic control unit 44 which is a one-chip microcomputer or microprocessor having an input/output function, a RAM 45 which is a temporary storage device, and a ROM 46 which is a permanent storage device. The stepping motor drive control unit W is controlled according to a control program as a control procedure, writes various data to the RAM 45, reads data as necessary, and performs calculations.
, 38 and 39 to perform drive control of the pulse motor, and perform calculation control such as angle control of the light wave range finder 32.

In this embodiment, the RAM 45 includes a reference data buffer 4a serving as a reference data storage means for storing measured distance data and coordinate data in advance as reference data;
It has a distance data buffer 45b as a distance data storage means for storing distance data, and a coordinate data buffer 45c as a coordinate data storage means for storing coordinate data of angles in the turning direction and the elevation direction of the light wave range finder. .

The reference data buffer 45a is a buffer for storing the distance data of the first measurement after the start of measurement, the angular coordinates in the turning direction, and the angular coordinates in the elevation direction as reference data, respectively. This is a buffer that stores the latest data that is changed.

The ROM 46 has a control program memory 46a as a predetermined control procedure, a search angle table 46b, and a search direction table 46c.

The control program memory 46a has a control procedure shown in FIG. 6, and the search angle table 46b is a ROM containing relative angle coordinates corresponding to 70% of the diameter of the reflector A corresponding to the distance, as shown in FIG. The search direction table 46c is a ROM table with a spiral pattern used when the search coordinate setting means operates.

In this device, the user operates the arrow keys 42 shown in FIG. 5 to aim at the approximate position of the reflector A with the telescope 40 for visual aiming, and then presses the entry key 43 to measure the current optical distance. Distance data from the vehicle and coordinate data for each angle of turning and elevation are stored in the reference data buffer 45a.

Then, the device starts automatic operation according to the control program stored in the ROM 46 as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. In automatic operation, in order to accurately re-aim the center of the reflector A based on the position aimed by the user, a search coordinate setting means is used to calculate and set the center point, the details of which will be described later. As a result, the coordinate data and distance data of each angle of rotation and elevation of the reaimed position are used as reference data in the reference data buffer 4 shown in FIG.
5a and stored. The device then begins measuring displacement.

In this displacement measurement, if the reflector A moves and deviates from the sight and there is no data signal from the light wave range finder 32, the search coordinate setting means (details will be described later).

) works to search for the reflector.6 If the center of the reflector deviates slightly from the aim, the center setting means is activated and further aims at the center of the reflector, and each angle of elevation and elevation of the turn at that time is activated. The coordinate data is stored in the coordinate data buffer 45c shown in FIG. These data are stored in the distance data buffer 45b, and the arithmetic and control unit 44 calculates the difference between these data and the data stored in the reference data buffer 45a.

This result is displayed on the display 47. The device repeats this measurement of displacement.

To explain the above search coordinate setting means in detail based on an embodiment, FIG. 7 shows an operation flowchart of the search coordinate setting means.

The arithmetic control circuit 44 composed of a microprocessor has a counter Ro as a general-purpose register, and a counter R
o is a search direction table 46 having data (shown in FIG. 9) indicating which direction to search next, as shown in FIG.
It becomes a pointer to c.

Here, the data is 4bitf7! When φb is 1, it moves to the right, when 1b is 1, it moves to the left, 2b is above 1, and when 3b is 1, it moves downward.

First, when a measurement is performed with a light wave range finder in the state of Ro, the result is judged. However, once there is a reflected input of light to the light wave range finder and a normal value of distance data is obtained, Each angular coordinate is stored in the coordinate data buffer 45c. Then, the apparatus moves to the next operation step of the center setting means as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, but if it is determined that an error has occurred, the distance data buffer 4
New target coordinates are calculated using the data 5b and counter Ro.

That is, in order to obtain new coordinates, first, relative angle coordinates corresponding to 70% of the diameter of the reflector are determined in advance, and these are stored in the ROM as the search angle table 46b in FIG. has been done.

FIG. 5: The arithmetic and control device 44 obtains distance data from the distance data buffer 45b.
The table data shown in the figure is obtained by Ro's access.

This is a search direction table that indicates the next direction to search.

The target coordinates to be searched for next are calculated from the amount of movement based on the search angle table and the direction of movement.

The tables shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are prepared for the purpose of reducing the burden on the arithmetic and control unit.

When the target coordinates are obtained, the robot moves to the target coordinates, counts up the counter Ro, and performs measurement using a light wave range finder. The device repeats this operation until it finds a reflector.

In the above, it was mentioned that in determining the measurement result, there are cases where a normal value is obtained and cases where it is judged as an error. It is something that

That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10A,
First, if no reflected light is obtained, the arithmetic and control unit 44 unconditionally determines that there is an error since distance data cannot be obtained in this case. On the other hand, if some distance data is obtained through the measurement, the arithmetic and control unit 44 in FIG. 5 compares the measured data with the data stored in the distance data buffer 45b.

2. If, as shown in Figure 10B, a reflective object B that is different from the original reflector A appears and is overlapped with reflector A in the middle of the measurement process, in this case, the reflective object B For example, the distance of 10B is measured.
If point F in the figure is measured, the comparison result will indicate the moving distance d.

However, in this device, if the reflected light is larger than a predetermined constant based on the amount of d, it is determined as disturbance noise and an error. The constant in this case is determined based on the predicted moving speed of the moving object.

Next, the operation of the center setting means for setting the center point of the reflector described above will be explained. FIG. 11 shows an operation flowchart of the center setting means.

In Fig. 2, if a measurement is made at point 21 of reflector A', the measurement result is determined to be a normal value, and the measurement is performed again by moving one coordinate further to the right. When the position of the point 22 where no light is obtained is reached, an error is detected by the above-mentioned error detection means, and the arithmetic and control unit 44 stores the rotation direction angular coordinates at that time in the general-purpose register Ro as the right end coordinates. After that, the coordinates stored in the coordinate data buffer 45c, that is, the point 21 is returned to 0.
Next, in the same manner as described above, point 21 is moved one coordinate distance to the left and measurement is performed, and this is repeated to obtain point 23 where no reflected light is obtained. The arithmetic and control unit 44 calculates the coordinates of the point 34 in the middle based on the angle coordinates of the turning direction at this time and the general-purpose register Ro, and stores the coordinates in the coordinate data buffer 45 shown in FIG.
The value of c is updated, and the stepping motor is driven to move the aim of the rangefinder to that position.

Similarly, the apparatus obtains 259 points 26 at the ends of the reflector A' in the vertical direction shown in FIG. 2, and obtains the coordinates of a point 27 in the middle thereof.

The value of the coordinate data buffer 45c shown in FIG. 5 is updated using this value as the center point in the vertical direction of the reflector A', and the aim of the light wave range finder is moved to the center of the reflector A'. This function allows aiming at the center point of reflector A'.

In this embodiment, the reflector is shown as having a circular shape, but the reflector may have a rectangular shape or the like.

However, in that case, it is necessary to set the search angle table based on the minimum diameter of the reflector.

In the above operation, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, when the search coordinate setting means and the center setting means have completed aiming at the center point of the reflector, the coordinate data buffer 45c of the RAM 45 stores the aiming point. Although coordinate data is stored, the distance data buffer 45b also stores distance data that does not need to be reaimed at the start of automatic driving. Therefore, the distance is finally measured and the distance data is stored in the distance data buffer 45b.

In this case as well, the above-described error detection means is activated to detect an error, and if an error is detected, the measurement is performed again.

When the distance data is finally stored in the distance data buffer 45b, the data stored in the coordinate data buffer 45c and the distance data buffer 45b and the reference data buffer 45 are
Using the data stored in a, the calculation control bag r! 144
The difference from the reference data is calculated using , and the displacement is calculated.

The movement is measured and detected by displaying the result on the display 47. Additionally, devices such as alarms and recorders may be connected as necessary.

This device repeats the above operations and automatically follows the movement of the reflector and aims at it.

The above embodiment describes the case where the present invention is implemented as a ground movement detection device, but as is clear from the description, distance measurement is performed as part of the configuration, and therefore automatic It can be used as an optical range finder with a sighting function, and since it can automatically continue measuring once installed, it can be used as an optical range finder to measure changes over time in buildings, etc. It is something.

Furthermore, the ground movement detection device in this embodiment has an error detection means, and for example, if there is a reflective object such as a car reflector behind the reflector, the measured data may be regarded as noise. There is an effect that can be done. Furthermore, since the end of the reflector is detected by the error detection means and the center point of the reflector is determined, the reliability of the measurement is also high.

(3) Effects of the invention As explained above, the automatic aiming device according to the invention has the following features:
The reflector is a passive type, which can follow the movement of the reflector and automatically aim the center of the reflector. Therefore, accurate aiming by the measurer is not required, and the reflector This has the effect of automatically and continuously measuring the movement of objects. Furthermore, the automatic aiming device according to the present invention is highly effective as an optical distance measuring device for measuring the movement of the ground surface, the movement of buildings, etc., and the distance to other moving objects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are explanatory views for explaining the principle of the automatic aiming device of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the search function of the search coordinate setting means, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the search function of the search coordinate setting means. It is an explanatory diagram about a center function. Fig. 3 is a reflector, Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of a ground movement measuring and detecting device implementing this invention, Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a circuit of an embodiment, and Fig. 6 is an embodiment of this invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the search coordinate setting means, FIG. 8 is the search angle table data stored in the ROM, and FIG. 9 is the search angle table data stored in the ROM. FIG. 10A is a flowchart of the operation of the error detection means, FIG. 10B is a functional explanatory diagram of the error detection means, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the operation of the center setting means. A, A'...Reflector B...Reflecting object C, D...Observation point F...Aiming point 1, ~12...Aiming point 21, ~27...Aiming point 31... - Pile 32...Light wave range finder 33...Turning elevation mechanism 34...Turning stepping motor 35
...Stepping motor 36 for elevation...
-Tripod 37...Control device 38.39...Stepping motor wAilJ control device 40...Telescope 41...Manufacturer 42...Arrow key 43...Entry key 44...Arithmetic control device 45 ...RAM 45a ...Reference data buffer 45b
...Distance data buffer 45c ...Coordinate data buffer 46 ...ROM 46a ...Control program memory 46b
...Search angle table 46c ...Search direction table 47 ...Display device patent applicant Kumamoto Technopolis Foundation Foundation Second year of 1986! Day 1, Indication of the case Patent Application No. 271604 of 1986 2, Title of the invention Automatic aiming device 3, Name of the document related to the amendment Application 4, Person making the amendment Relationship with the case Patent applicant residence Location 861-23 Kumamoto 2081-10 Tahara, Mashiki-machi, Kamimashiki-gun, Prefecture Telephone (096) 286-330.0-, -4'l Po5
, Contents of amendment (1) The first line of the application, “Patent Application”, was replaced with “Patent Application (
(Patent application pursuant to the proviso to Article 38 of the Patent Act)". (2) Between the 4th line of the application, ``1. Title of the invention'' and the 5th line, ``21. Insert. (3) Change “25 Inventor” in line 6 of the application to “31 Inventor”, change “3. Patent Applicant” in line 11 to “4. Patent Applicant”, and change line 16 to “4. Patent Applicant” in line 11 of the application. First, the section ``4. List of attached documents'' has been corrected to ``5. List of attached documents.''that's all

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A retroreflector, an optical range finder, a drive mechanism for rotating the optical range finder in the turning direction and the elevation direction, a stepping motor as an actuator of the drive mechanism, and the stepping motor. It has a stepping motor drive control means for controlling the motor, and a control device for controlling the stepping motor drive control means. a coordinate data storage means for storing angular coordinate data; a distance data storage means for storing distance data obtained by the optical rangefinder; a reference data storage means for previously storing coordinate data and distance data as reference data; It has calculation means for comparing and determining coordinate data and distance data with reference data, and a control program memory that stores control procedures for the arithmetic and control unit, and also has a calculation means for determining the coordinate data and distance data by comparing them with reference data. a search coordinate setting means having a search angle table having coordinate data and a search direction table having data determining a search direction for moving the aim to the measurement point; and a center setting means for calculating and setting the center point of the reflector. Automatic aiming device with. (2) The automatic aiming device according to claim 1, wherein the automatic aiming device is an optical distance measuring device.