Geodetic Measuring Device Digital Sighting System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Geodetic surveying devices face challenges in providing a comfortable and ergonomic aiming experience, especially in bright conditions, due to the complexity and high precision requirements of their optical systems, which result in strenuous viewing and limited field of view, and require laborious assembly and adjustment of high-precision optics.
Innovation Solution
A geodetic surveying device with a sighting system that uses a multiply magnifying lens, a camera sensor, and an electronic graphics processor to generate a display image, which is then shown on a microdisplay visible through the eyepiece, eliminating the need for a direct visual viewing channel and allowing for less complex optics and larger pupil openings without parallax errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a direct visual viewing channel with high-precision optics is used, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a camera sensor to capture an image of the target object through the optical system, creating a digital copy of the visual field. This camera image is then processed and displayed on a microdisplay, replacing the need for a direct visual viewing channel with high-precision eyepiece optics. The copying principle allows the system to achieve measurement precision through digital image processing while avoiding the complexity of high-precision optical components required for direct visual observation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the mechanical optical system (eyepiece, reticle, direct viewing channel) with an electronic system consisting of a camera sensor, graphics processor, and microdisplay. This replacement eliminates the need for complex mechanical optics while maintaining or improving measurement capabilities through digital processing of the captured image.
2Measurement precision
If high-precision optics are used for direct viewing, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By capturing the target image with a camera sensor and displaying it on a microdisplay, the system creates a digital replica of the optical field. This approach replaces expensive, difficult-to-manufacture high-precision optics with commercially available camera sensors and standard microdisplays, significantly improving ease of manufacture while maintaining measurement precision through digital image processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs relatively inexpensive camera sensors and microdisplays instead of expensive high-precision optical components. These electronic components are easier to manufacture and replace, reducing the overall manufacturing cost and complexity while achieving the required measurement precision through software-based image processing.
3Measurement precision
If a small pupil opening is used to avoid parallax error, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures the entire field of view with the camera sensor and displays it on a microdisplay with a larger exit pupil. This digital copying approach eliminates the parallax error issue inherent in direct visual observation through small eyepiece pupils, as the displayed image can be viewed comfortably with a larger pupil opening, improving ease of operation while maintaining measurement precision through digital crosshair overlay.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical eyepiece viewing system with an electronic display system. The microdisplay presents the captured image with electronically generated crosshairs, allowing for a larger effective pupil opening and more comfortable viewing without introducing parallax errors, thereby improving ease of operation while preserving measurement precision.
4Measurement precision
If specialized high-precision optics are used, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a camera sensor to capture the target image and a graphics processor to generate and overlay digital crosshairs and measurement data. This digital copying and processing approach replaces the need for specialized high-precision optics with standard commercial components, significantly improving ease of manufacture while maintaining measurement precision through software-based image analysis and overlay.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes specialized mechanical optics with an electronic imaging system consisting of a camera sensor, graphics processor, and microdisplay. This replacement eliminates the need for laborious assembly and adjustment of high-precision optical components, improving ease of manufacture while achieving equivalent or superior measurement precision through digital processing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces the complexity of the optical system, improves user comfort by allowing a larger pupil opening, and enhances image quality through electronic processing, enabling precise targeting with reduced assembly and adjustment efforts while maintaining high image quality.
Implementation Method 1
a sighting device having a camera sensor (4) aligned downstream of the multiply magnifying lens (3) for capturing a camera image of a field of view
Implementation Method 2
a multiply magnifying lens (3)
Implementation Method 3
The position of the focusing lens group is adjusted depending on the object distance so that a sharp object image is created on the reticle arranged in the focal plane
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a geodetic measuring device that is designed as a theolodite or a total station and that has an angle and distance measuring functionality for determining a position of a target object. For this purpose, the measuring device comprises a sighting device (2) having a lens (3) that magnifies multiplicatively, a camera sensor (4) - in particular a CCD or CMOS area sensor - comprising a plurality of image recording points for recording a camera image of a field of view, a focusing optical system (5) arranged in front of the camera sensor (4) - wherein a first optical path (9) is defined between the lens (3) and the camera sensor (4) - and an ocular (6), in particular wherein the optical axes of the lens (3) and of the ocular (6) are coaxial. The camera sensor is connected to an electronic graphics processor (7) for generating a display image from the camera image. According to the invention, the sighting device (2) comprises an electronic graphical display component (8) - in particular a microdisplay or minidisplay - arranged in front of the ocular (6) for visually presenting the generated display image, wherein a second optical path (10) separated from the first optical path (9) by the display image is defined between the display component (8) and the ocular (6).