DISTANCE MEASURING METHOD

• Main Author: INADA TOSHIO
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 06.06.1989
• Subjects: GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; MEASURING; MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; NAVIGATION; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY; PHYSICS; SURVEYING; TESTING

PURPOSE:To measure a distance in two dimensions with high accuracy by relatively simple constitution by scanning beam light which is projected on a body to be measured from a light source by an optical scanner and detecting the convergence position of reflected light from the body to be measured by a two-dimensional photodetection position detecting element. CONSTITUTION:A semiconductor laser 1 projects the beam light on the body to be measured through a projection lens 2, a photodetection lens 3 converge the reflected light from the body to be measured, and the photodetection position detecting element (PSD) 4 detects its convergence position. Then the distance to the object body is detected by trigonometry based upon the convergence position of the reflected light and the arrangement positions of the photodetection lens and light source system. At this time, the optical scanner 5 is provided to scan the beam light in a direction crossing the plane containing three points of the trigonometry and the two-dimensional PSD 4 is used to detect the convergence position of the reflected light from the object body, thereby detecting the distance and displacement of the object body in two dimensions.