JP7745995B2 - Tripods and surveying equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a tripod and surveying equipment that can be easily installed.

In recent years, surveying equipment has become smaller and lighter. Furthermore, there is a demand for measurement methods that allow for measurements to be taken in a short amount of time while moving between many measurement points.

However, when installing surveying equipment on a reference point, it is usually set up using a tripod, and the equipment must be leveled horizontally on the tripod. Furthermore, the equipment's mechanical center must be positioned using a plumb ball or telescope plummet so that it is located on a vertical line passing through the reference point. Furthermore, the height from the reference point to the mechanical center (the instrument height of the surveying equipment) must also be measured. This makes the installation of surveying equipment complicated, time-consuming, and requires skill.

In addition, tripods are made of wood or aluminum, are heavy, and have a sturdy structure, making them difficult to move. Furthermore, if the surveying equipment is equipped with a large-capacity battery or a high-performance processing system, the weight increases, making it even more difficult to move.

JP 2019-90770 A JP 2016-161411 A JP 2016-151422 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-106813 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-15601 JP 2016-151423 A

The present invention provides a tripod and surveying equipment that allows for easy transport of the surveying equipment.

This invention relates to a tripod comprising a main leg, a connector attached to the main leg, two auxiliary legs attached to the connector and rotatable around their upper ends in directions toward and away from the main leg, and wheels attached to the lower part of each auxiliary leg; and configured so that when the main leg and auxiliary leg are closed, the main leg and auxiliary leg can be tilted toward the auxiliary leg, allowing only the wheels to touch the ground.

The present invention also relates to a tripod configured so that the axle of the wheel is eccentric with respect to the axis of the auxiliary leg in a direction away from the main leg.

The present invention also relates to a tripod configured so that the axis of the wheel axle is perpendicular to the axis of the auxiliary leg.

The present invention also relates to a tripod configured so that when the auxiliary legs are opened to a predetermined angle, only the lower ends of the main legs and the auxiliary legs come into contact with the installation surface, leaving a gap between the installation surface and the wheels.

The present invention also relates to a tripod configured so that the lower ends of the main legs are positioned lower than the lower ends of the auxiliary legs and the lower ends of the wheels.

The present invention also relates to a tripod in which each wheel is configured to be parallel when the auxiliary legs are closed.

The present invention also relates to a tripod in which a main guide member is provided at the midpoint of the main leg and an auxiliary guide member is provided at the midpoint of the auxiliary leg, and the main guide member and the auxiliary guide member are connected by a restricting member.

The present invention also relates to a tripod that further includes an auxiliary leg fixing member provided midway along the main leg, the auxiliary leg fixing member having a storage section capable of holding the auxiliary leg, and is configured so that the auxiliary leg is held in the storage section when the auxiliary leg is closed.

The present invention also relates to a surveying instrument comprising the above-mentioned tripod, a fixture attached to the upper end of the tripod, and a surveying instrument body attached to the fixture at a known distance from the lower end of the main leg and at a known angle relative to the axis of the main leg, the surveying instrument body having a reference optical axis, the surveying instrument body comprising a distance measuring unit that emits distance measuring light to measure the distance to the measurement object, an emission direction detecting unit that detects the emission direction of the distance measuring light, and an attitude detector that detects the inclination of the surveying instrument body relative to the horizontal, and a calculation control unit that calculates the three-dimensional coordinates of a predetermined measurement point relative to a reference point based on the distance measurement results of the distance measuring unit, the measurement results of the emission direction detecting unit, and the detection results of the attitude detector.

This invention comprises a main landing gear, a connector attached to the main landing gear, two auxiliary legs attached to the connector that are rotatable around their upper ends in directions toward and away from the main landing gear, and wheels attached to the lower part of each auxiliary leg. When the main landing gear and auxiliary legs are closed, tilting the main landing gear and auxiliary legs toward the auxiliary legs allows only the wheels to come into contact with the ground. This allows only the wheels to come into contact with the installation surface without tilting the main landing gear significantly, making transportation easy.

According to the present invention, the surveying instrument comprises the tripod, a fixture attached to the upper end of the tripod, and a surveying instrument body attached to the fixture at a known distance from the lower end of the main leg and at a known angle relative to the axis of the main leg, and having a reference optical axis. The surveying instrument body is equipped with a distance measuring unit that emits distance measuring light to measure the distance to the measurement object, an emission direction detecting unit that detects the emission direction of the distance measuring light, and an attitude detector that detects the inclination of the surveying instrument body relative to the horizontal. It also has a calculation control unit that calculates the three-dimensional coordinates of a predetermined measurement point relative to a reference point based on the distance measurement results of the distance measuring unit, the measurement results of the emission direction detecting unit, and the detection results of the attitude detector. Since only the wheels can be brought into contact with the installation surface without significantly tilting the tripod, the surveying instrument body has the excellent effect of being easily transportable.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a surveying instrument according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 1A is a front view showing the tripod in a closed position, and FIG. 1B is a view taken along the arrow X in FIG. (A) is a side view showing the tripod in a closed position with the main landing gear in a vertical position, (B) is a side view showing the main landing gear tilted from the position in (A) until the wheels come into contact with the installation surface, and (C) is a side view showing the main landing gear tilted from the position in (B) until the lower end of the main landing gear moves away from the installation surface. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the tripod in an open position. FIG. 1A is a side view showing the tripod in a closed position with the main legs positioned vertically; FIG. 1B is a side view showing the tripod in a position where the auxiliary legs are opened from the position shown in FIG. 1A; and FIG. 1C is a side view showing the tripod in a position where the lower ends of the main legs and the auxiliary legs are each in contact with the installation surface from the position shown in FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a surveying instrument main body according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 10A to 10D are explanatory diagrams illustrating the transportation of the surveying instrument by an operator. 10A and 10B are side views of a tripod according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) shows the tripod in a closed position with the main landing gear in a vertical position, (B) shows the main landing gear tilted from the position in (A) until the wheels come into contact with the installation surface, and (C) shows the main landing gear tilted from the position in (B) until the bottom end of the main landing gear moves away from the installation surface.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 show a surveying instrument according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The surveying device 1 comprises a tripod 2, a fixture 3 attached to the upper end of the tripod 2, and a surveying device main body 4 fixedly attached to the tripod 2 via the fixture 3.

The tripod 3 has a main leg 5 and two auxiliary legs 7 connected to the main leg 5 via a connector 6. A ferrule 8 is provided at the lower end of the main leg 5, and the fixing device 3 is provided at the upper end of the main leg 5. Furthermore, the main leg 5 is provided with a main guide member 9 that slides along the main leg 5. The shapes of the main leg 5, auxiliary leg 7, and main guide member 9 can be selected as appropriate, but in this embodiment, a cylindrical shape is used.

The ferrule 8 has a tapered shape and a pointed lower end. The lower end of the ferrule 8 coincides with the axis of the main landing gear 5, and the positional relationship (horizontal and vertical distances) between the lower end of the ferrule 8 and the upper end of the main landing gear 5 is known. The positional relationship between the lower end of the ferrule 8 and the fixture 3 is also known, and the positional relationship between the lower end of the ferrule 8 and the mechanical center (the point serving as the reference point for measurement) of the surveying device main body 4, which is fixedly attached to the fixture 3, is also known. In other words, the surveying device main body 4 is positioned at a known angle with respect to the axis of the main landing gear 5.

The auxiliary legs 7 are rotatably connected to the connector 6 around their upper ends, and can rotate a predetermined angle in the direction toward or away from the main legs 5. Each auxiliary leg 7 is configured to spread out radially at a required angle. Furthermore, each auxiliary leg 7 has an auxiliary guide member 11 fixedly mounted in a predetermined position. The shape of the auxiliary guide member 11 can be selected appropriately depending on the usage state of the auxiliary legs 7, but in this embodiment, a cylindrical shape is used.

The main guide member 9 is connected to each sub-guide member 11 via rod-shaped regulating members 12, which are rotatable relative to the main guide member 9 and the sub-guide member 11. When closing the auxiliary legs 7, the main guide member 9 slides upward along the main legs 5. When opening the auxiliary legs 7, the main guide member 9 slides downward along the main legs.

At this time, because the main guide member 9 and sub-guide member 11 are connected via the regulating member 12, the regulating member 12 regulates rotation of the auxiliary leg 7 away from the main leg 5 by more than a predetermined angle. In other words, the regulating member 12 makes it easy to maintain a constant opening angle of the tripod 2. The regulating member 12 does not have to be rod-shaped. For example, the regulating member 12 may be chain-shaped or string-shaped. In this case, the main guide member 9 is fixedly attached to the main leg 5.

A wheel mounting member 13 is provided at the bottom of each auxiliary leg 7. The wheel mounting member 13 protrudes in the direction in which the auxiliary leg 7 moves away from the vehicle, and a wheel 15 is rotatably attached to the tip of the wheel mounting member 13 via an axle 14 (described below).

The axle 14 (center of rotation) of the wheel 15 is eccentric with respect to the axis of the auxiliary leg 7 in a direction away from the main leg 5. Furthermore, when the auxiliary leg 7 is closed, the two wheels 15 are configured to be concentric and parallel to each other.

The surveying device main body 4 has a distance measuring unit 17 (described below) as an electronic distance meter, and a measurement direction imaging unit 18 (described below). The reference optical axis of the optical system of the distance measuring unit 17 is the reference optical axis O. The optical axis of the measurement direction imaging unit 18 (hereinafter referred to as the imaging optical axis 19) is inclined upward at a predetermined angle (e.g., 6°) with respect to the reference optical axis O, and the distance and positional relationship between the measurement direction imaging unit 18 and the distance measuring unit 17 are known. The distance measuring unit 17 and the measurement direction imaging unit 18 are housed inside the housing of the surveying device main body 4.

Next, the tripod 2 will be further explained with reference to Figures 2 to 5.

An auxiliary leg fixing member 21 is provided midway along the main landing gear 5. The auxiliary leg fixing member 21 has an arm 22 that extends at a required angle in the direction in which the auxiliary leg 7 moves away, and a semicircular storage section 23 is formed at the tip of the arm 22.

When the auxiliary legs 7 are closed, they are stored in the storage compartments 23. When the auxiliary legs 7 are stored in the storage compartments 23, they are held by the auxiliary leg fixing members 21 using a predetermined means such as a magnet. Alternatively, the storage compartments 23 may be made of a flexible material such as resin, and the auxiliary legs 7 may be fitted into the storage compartments 23 while bending them.

The lower end of the ferrule 8 is located lower than the lower end of the auxiliary leg 7 and the lower end of the wheel 15. In other words, as shown in Figures 2(A) and 3(A), when the main leg 5 is in a vertical position, a gap of a predetermined distance A is formed between the installation surface and the lower end of the auxiliary leg 7, and between the installation surface and the lower end of the wheel 15. Note that although Figure 2(A) shows the lower end of the auxiliary leg 7 and the lower end of the wheel 15 to be positioned at the same position, they may also be positioned differently.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3(B), when the auxiliary legs 7 are closed and the main legs 5 are tilted by a predetermined angle C in the eccentric direction of the wheels 15 (toward the auxiliary legs), the ferrules 8 and the two wheels 15 come into contact with the installation surface. At this time, a gap of a predetermined size is formed between the lower ends of the auxiliary legs 7 and the installation surface.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3(C), when the main landing gear is further tilted by a predetermined angle D from the state shown in Figure 3(B), the main landing gear 5 and the auxiliary landing gear 7 rotate around the contact point of the wheel 15. As a result, the ferrule 8 moves away from the installation surface, and only the wheel 15 comes into contact with the installation surface. In this case, a gap of a predetermined size is also formed between the auxiliary landing gear 7 and the installation surface.

The angle between the axis of the main leg 5 and the vertical is made smaller than a predetermined angle C, causing the wheels 15 to move away from the installation surface. Furthermore, with the wheels 15 moved away (see Figure 5(A)), the auxiliary legs 7 are opened by a predetermined angle E (see Figure 5(B)), and the main legs 5 are tilted by a predetermined angle F to allow the tripod 2 to stand independently with three-point support (see Figure 5(C)). As shown in Figures 4 and 5(C), the lower end of the ferrule 8 and the lower ends of the two auxiliary legs 7 come into contact with the installation surface. At this time, a gap of a predetermined distance B is formed between the wheels 15 and the installation surface, causing the wheels 15 to move away from the installation surface.

The general configuration of the surveying device main body 4 will be described with reference to Figure 6. Note that the surveying device main body 4 may be, for example, that disclosed in Patent Document 1.

The surveying device main body 4 comprises the distance measurement unit 17, calculation control unit 24, memory unit 25, image processing unit 26, communication unit 27, optical axis deflection unit 28, attitude detector 29, measurement direction imaging unit 18, and emission direction detection unit 31, all of which are housed and integrated in a housing 32.

The distance measuring unit 17 and the optical axis deflection unit 28 are arranged on the reference optical axis O. The distance measuring unit 17 has a distance measuring optical axis 33 that passes through the center of the optical axis deflection unit 28. The distance measuring unit 17 emits distance measuring light 34 as a laser beam on the distance measuring optical axis 33, receives reflected distance measuring light 35 incident from the distance measuring optical axis 33, and measures the object to be measured based on the reflected distance measuring light 35. The distance measuring unit 17 functions as an optical distance meter. The distance measuring data obtained by the distance measuring unit 17 is stored in the memory unit 25.

The optical axis deflection unit 28 deflects the distance measurement optical axis 33 and collimates the distance measurement light 34 onto the object to be measured. When the optical axis deflection unit 28 does not deflect the distance measurement optical axis 33, the distance measurement optical axis 33 and the reference optical axis O coincide.

The laser beam may be continuous light, pulsed light, or the intermittently modulated distance measuring light (burst light) described in Patent Document 2. Pulsed light and intermittently modulated light are collectively referred to as pulsed light.

The communication unit 27 is capable of transmitting image data acquired by the measurement direction imaging unit 18, image data processed by the image processing unit 26, distance measurement data acquired by the distance measurement unit 17, and angle measurement data acquired by the emission direction detection unit 31 to a terminal device (not shown) such as a smartphone or tablet.

The memory unit 25 stores various programs, such as an imaging control program, an image processing program, a ranging program, a display program, a communication program, a tilt angle calculation program that calculates the tilt angle and tilt direction of the main landing gear 5 based on the attitude detection results from the attitude detector 29 and further calculates the vertical component of the tilt angle (the tilt angle of the main landing gear 5 in the fore-and-aft direction relative to the object being measured) and the horizontal component of the tilt angle (the tilt angle of the main landing gear 5 in the left-and-right direction relative to the object being measured), a correction program that corrects the orientation of the captured image based on the calculated tilt, a measurement program for performing ranging, a deflection control program for controlling the deflection operation of the optical axis deflection unit 28, and a calculation program that performs various calculations. The memory unit 25 also stores various data, such as distance measurement data, angle measurement data, and image data.

The calculation control unit 24 deploys and executes the various programs according to the operating state of the surveying device main body 4, controlling the distance measurement unit 17, the optical axis deflection unit 28, the measurement direction imaging unit 18, etc., and performs distance measurement. The calculation control unit 24 may be a CPU specialized for this device or a general-purpose CPU.

The storage unit 25 may be any of a variety of storage devices, such as a magnetic storage device such as an HDD, a built-in semiconductor storage device such as an internal memory, a memory card, or a USB memory. The storage unit 25 may be detachable from the housing 32. Alternatively, the storage unit 25 may be capable of sending data to an external storage device or external data processing device via a desired communication means.

The optical axis deflection unit 28 will now be described. For the optical axis deflection unit 28, those disclosed in Patent Documents 3 to 5, for example, can be used.

The optical axis deflection unit 28 comprises a pair of optical prisms 36, 37. The optical prisms 36, 37 are each disk-shaped and of the same diameter, and are arranged concentrically on the distance measurement optical axis 33, perpendicular to the distance measurement optical axis 33, and parallel to the axis at a predetermined distance. By controlling the relative rotation of the optical prisms 36, 37 and the integral rotation of the optical prisms 36, 37, the distance measurement optical axis 33 can be deflected to any angle between 0° and the maximum deflection angle.

Furthermore, by continuously irradiating the distance measurement light 34 while continuously driving and deflecting the optical prisms 36 and 37, the distance measurement light 34 can be scanned two-dimensionally in a predetermined pattern.

The emission direction detection unit 31 detects the relative rotation angle of the optical prisms 36 and 37, as well as the integral rotation angle of the optical prisms 36 and 37, and detects the deflection direction (emission direction) of the distance measurement optical axis 33 in real time.

The emission direction detection result (angle measurement result) is associated with the distance measurement result and input to the calculation control unit 24, and further stored in the memory unit 25. Note that when the distance measurement light 34 is emitted in bursts, distance and angle measurement are performed for each intermittent distance measurement light.

The calculation control unit 24 calculates the horizontal angle and vertical angle of the measurement point relative to the reference optical axis O from the deflection angle and emission direction of the distance measurement light 34. Furthermore, the calculation control unit 24 can calculate three-dimensional data (three-dimensional coordinates) of the measurement point by associating the horizontal angle and vertical angle of the measurement point with the distance measurement data. Thus, the surveying device main body 4 functions as a total station. Furthermore, using the surveying device 1 as a total station makes it possible to collimate and measure the distance to the measurement object without changing the position of the imaging optical axis 19, improving operability.

The attitude detector 29 detects the tilt angle of the surveying device main body 4 relative to the horizontal or vertical, and the detection result is input to the calculation control unit 24. The attitude detection device disclosed in Patent Document 6 can be used as the attitude detector 29.

The calculation control unit 24 calculates the tilt angle of the main landing gear 5 in the longitudinal direction (tilt angle in the direction of approaching or moving away from the measurement object) and the tilt angle of the main landing gear 5 in the lateral direction from the detection results of the attitude detector 29. The tilt angle in the longitudinal direction appears as an inclination angle of the reference optical axis O relative to the horizontal, and the tilt angle in the lateral direction appears as a tilt (rotation) of the image acquired by the measurement direction imaging unit 18.

The calculation control unit 24 calculates the tilt angle of the ranging optical axis 33 relative to the horizontal based on the tilt angle and the deflection angle caused by the optical axis deflection unit 28. Furthermore, the image processing unit 26 creates a vertical image based on the tilt of the image. The created vertical image is stored in the memory unit 25 or transmitted to a terminal device via the communication unit 27.

The measurement direction imaging unit 18 is a camera with an angle of view of, for example, 50° to 60°, which is approximately equal to the maximum deflection angle θ/2 (for example, ±30°) of the optical prisms 36 and 37. The relationship between the imaging optical axis 19, the ranging optical axis 33, and the reference optical axis O is known, and the distance between each optical axis is also a known value.

The measurement direction imaging unit 18 is also capable of capturing still images, continuous images, or moving images in real time. The images (observation images) captured by the measurement direction imaging unit 18 are sent to an operation unit (not shown). The operator can perform measurement work by observing the observation image displayed on the operation unit. The center of the observation image coincides with the imaging optical axis 19, and the reference optical axis O is positioned at a predetermined angle of view from the center of the observation image based on a known relationship with the imaging optical axis 19.

The arithmetic and control unit 24 controls the imaging of the measurement direction imaging unit 18. When the measurement direction imaging unit 18 captures the moving image or continuous images, the arithmetic and control unit 24 synchronizes the timing of acquiring the frame images that make up the moving image or continuous images with the timing of scanning and distance measurement by the surveying device main body 4. Furthermore, when the measurement direction imaging unit 18 captures a still image, the arithmetic and control unit 24 synchronizes the timing of acquiring the still image with the timing of scanning by the surveying device main body 4. The arithmetic and control unit 24 also associates images with measurement data (distance measurement data, angle measurement data).

The imaging element (not shown) of the measurement direction imaging unit 18 is a CCD or CMOS sensor, which is a collection of pixels, and the position of each pixel on the imaging element can be identified. For example, each pixel has pixel coordinates with the imaging optical axis 19 as the origin, and the position on the imaging element is identified by these pixel coordinates. Furthermore, because the relationship (distance) between the imaging optical axis 19 and the reference optical axis O is known, it is possible to correlate the measurement position by the distance measurement unit 17 with the position (pixel) on the imaging element. The image signal from the imaging element and coordinate information associated with the pixel are input to the image processing unit 26 via the calculation control unit 24.

The deflection and scanning actions of the optical axis deflection unit 28 are explained below.

The optical axis deflection unit 28 can arbitrarily change the deflection direction and deflection angle of the emitted distance measurement light 34 by combining the rotational positions of the optical prism 36 and the optical prism 37.

Therefore, by changing the deflection angle while emitting a laser beam from the distance measuring unit 17 and further rotating the optical axis deflection unit 28, the distance measuring light 34 can be scanned in any two-dimensional pattern.

Next, the measurements performed by the surveying device 1 will be described with reference to Figure 7. The following measurements are performed by the calculation control unit 24 executing a program stored in the memory unit 25.

If the auxiliary leg 7 is installed in an open state (see Figure 7(A)), first tilt the main leg 5 to move the wheel 15 away from the installation surface, then close the auxiliary leg 7 and fix it with the auxiliary leg fixing member 21 (see Figure 7(B)).

Once the auxiliary legs 7 are closed, the main legs 5 are tilted so that the ferrules 8 move away from the installation surface, leaving only the wheels 15 in contact with the installation surface (see Figure 7 (C)). In this state, the operator pushes or pulls the surveying device 1 to move it to the approximate position of reference point R.

At this time, the auxiliary legs 7 are closed, so the distance between the two wheels 15 is short. In other words, the turning radius is small, so the tripod 2 can be turned with the smallest radius, making it easy to change the orientation of the tripod 2 (see Figure 7 (D)).

When the surveying device 1 is moved to the approximate position of reference point R, the reference optical axis O is directed toward the object to be measured, and the main leg 5 is tilted so that the lower end of the ferrule 8 coincides with reference point R. Then, the main leg 5 is tilted further, and the wheel 15 is moved away from the installation surface (see Figure 7 (B)).

Finally, the auxiliary legs 7 are opened until they are restricted by the restricting members 12, and the main legs 5 are tilted to bring the auxiliary legs 7 into contact with the installation surface (see Figure 7(A)). At this time, the wheels 15 are moved away from the installation surface. As a result, the surveying device 1 is supported at three points by the main legs 5 and the two auxiliary legs 7, with the main legs 5 tilted at a predetermined angle. The measurement direction imaging unit 18 is in an operational state when the surveying device 1 is installed.

Once the surveying device 1 is installed, the observation image acquired by the measurement direction imaging unit 18 is displayed on the terminal device, and the direction and position of the reference optical axis O can be confirmed from the observation image. The tilt angle and tilt direction of the main landing gear 5 at this time are detected by the attitude detector 29.

Once the direction of the reference optical axis O has been determined, the measurable deflection range centered on the reference optical axis O can be confirmed on the observation image. The operator can designate any point within the measurable range in the observation image as the measurement point (measurement object). Upon designating the measurement point, the calculation control unit 24 uses the optical axis deflection unit 28 to direct the distance measurement optical axis 33 toward the measurement object.

The distance measurement optical axis 33 is directed toward the measurement point, the distance measurement light 34 is emitted, and measurement (distance measurement, angle measurement) of the measurement point is performed. The direction of the distance measurement light 34, distance measurement results, etc. are displayed on the terminal device. In addition, an image is acquired by the measurement direction imaging unit 18 in synchronization with the measurement of the measurement point.

The tilt of the surveying device 1 relative to the horizontal is detected in real time by the attitude detector 29. Therefore, even if the main landing gear 5 is tilted, the measurement results of the surveying device 1 can be corrected to measurement results based on reference point R based on the detection results of the attitude detector 29. In other words, the calculation control unit 24 can calculate the three-dimensional coordinates of the measurement point based on reference point R. This makes it possible to omit the leveling work required to adjust the surveying device 1 to be horizontal.

In the above explanation, the distance measurement optical axis 33 was fixed at the measurement point and measurements were taken in the same manner as a total station, but the surveying device 1 can also be used as a laser scanner that performs two-dimensional scanning.

Furthermore, by associating the observed image with data along the trajectory obtained by the 2D scan, an image with 3D data for each pixel can be obtained.

When the surveying device 1 is to be moved again, as described above, the wheels 15 are moved away, the auxiliary legs 7 are closed, the lower end of the ferrule 8 is moved away from the installation surface, and the wheels 15 are rolled to transport the surveying device 1 from reference point R to another installation point. After transportation, the lower end of the ferrule 8 is aligned with the other installation point, the auxiliary legs 7 are opened with the wheels 15 moved away, and the surveying device 1 is supported at three points by the main leg 5 and the two auxiliary legs 7.

As mentioned above, in the first embodiment, the wheels 15 are provided on the two auxiliary legs 7, and the surveying device 1 is moved via the wheels 15. Therefore, even if the surveying device main body 4 is equipped with a large-capacity battery or a high-performance processing system and the weight is increased, or even if the tripod 2 itself is heavy, the surveying device 1 can be moved easily without placing a burden on the operator.

Furthermore, the axle 14 of the wheel 15 is eccentric with respect to the axis of the auxiliary leg 7 in a direction that moves the auxiliary leg 7 away from the main leg 5. Therefore, only the wheel 15 can be brought into contact with the installation surface without tilting the main leg 5 more than necessary, thereby improving workability when moving the surveying device 1.

Furthermore, when the auxiliary legs 7 are opened, only the main legs 5 and the auxiliary legs 7 come into contact with the installation surface, and the wheels 15 are separated from the installation surface. Therefore, the surveying device 1 is supported at three points by the main legs 5 and the two auxiliary legs 7, thereby improving the stability of the tripod 2.

Furthermore, the main landing gear 5 is longer than the auxiliary landing gear 7. That is, the lower end of the ferrule 8 is located lower than the lower ends of the auxiliary landing gear 7 and the wheels 15. Therefore, the main landing gear 5 can be moved away from the wheel 15 installation surface simply by making it vertical or nearly vertical, so the auxiliary landing gear 7 can be easily opened and closed without tilting the main landing gear 5 more than necessary.

Furthermore, when the auxiliary legs 7 are closed, the two wheels 15 are configured to be parallel. This makes it easier to move the surveying device 1 and reduces the turning radius, eliminating the need to provide a separate turning mechanism on the tripod 2.

Furthermore, the main legs 5 and auxiliary legs 7 are connected via the restricting member 12, and the restricting member 12 prevents the auxiliary legs 7 from opening beyond a predetermined angle. Therefore, the auxiliary legs 7 can always be opened to the same angle, improving workability during installation.

Furthermore, the auxiliary leg fixing member 21 is provided on the main leg 5, and when the auxiliary leg 7 is closed, the auxiliary leg fixing member 21 can hold the auxiliary leg 7 in a closed state, thereby preventing the auxiliary leg 7 from opening unintentionally during transport, etc.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 8(A) to 8(C). Note that in Figures 8(A) to 8(C), elements that are equivalent to those in Figures 3(A) to 3(C) are designated by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, the wheels 15 are attached to the auxiliary legs 7 via wheel mounting members 13 so that the axis of the auxiliary legs 7 and the axis of the axles 14 are perpendicular to each other. In other words, the axles 14 are not eccentric in the direction in which the auxiliary legs 7 move toward or away from the main legs 5. The rest of the configuration is the same as in the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, as shown in Figure 8 (A), first the main landing gear 5 is positioned vertically, and the auxiliary landing gear 7 is closed, leaving a gap of a predetermined distance A between the installation surface and the lower end of the auxiliary landing gear 7, and between the installation surface and the lower end of the wheel 15.

From this state, as shown in Figure 8(B), the main landing gear 5 is tilted by a predetermined angle G in the eccentric direction of the wheels 15 (towards the auxiliary legs), bringing the two wheels 15 into contact with the installation surface. Then, as shown in Figure 8(C), by further tilting the main landing gear 5 by a predetermined angle H, the main landing gear 5 and the auxiliary landing gear 7 rotate around the installation point of the wheels 15. This causes the ferrule 8 to move away from the installation surface, leaving only the wheels 15 in contact with the installation surface.

In the second embodiment, the surveying instrument 1 (see Figure 1) is also moved via the wheels 15, so even if the surveying instrument main body 4 (see Figure 1) or tripod 2 is heavy, the surveying instrument 1 can be moved easily without placing a burden on the operator.

Note that the predetermined angle G is greater than the predetermined angle C (see Figure 3). Therefore, a handle or the like may be provided separately that extends upward when only the wheels 15 are in contact with the ground, allowing the tripod 2 to be moved via the handle.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Surveying instrument 2 Tripod 4 Surveying instrument body 5 Main landing gear 6 Connecting device 7 Auxiliary landing gear 8 Ferrule 9 Main guide member 11 Sub-guide member 12 Regulating member 15 Wheel

Claims (8)

The tripod comprises a main leg having a ferrule at its lower end, a connector attached to the main leg, two auxiliary legs attached to the connector and rotatable around their upper ends in directions toward and away from the main leg, wheels attached to the lower parts of the auxiliary legs, and a restricting member for restricting the rotation of the auxiliary legs to a certain angle,
The main landing gear and the two auxiliary landing gears do not have an extension or retraction function,
The positional relationship between the lower end of the ferrule and the upper end of the main landing gear is known,
The surveying instrument body is attached to the upper end of the main landing gear so that the axis of the surveying instrument body and the axis of the main landing gear are at a known angle, and the positional relationship between the mechanical center of the attached surveying instrument body and the lower end of the ferrule is known,
a configuration in which , when the main landing gear and the auxiliary landing gear are closed and the main landing gear is perpendicular to a mounting surface, a lower end of the ferrule is positioned lower than a lower end of the auxiliary landing gear and a lower end of the wheel;
When the auxiliary legs are released, the wheels are configured to move away from the installation surface,
a configuration in which, with the main landing gear and the auxiliary landing gear closed, the main landing gear and the auxiliary landing gear are inclined toward the auxiliary landing gear, thereby allowing only the wheels to contact the ground;
The tripod is configured so that the tripod is set on the reference point by matching the lower end of the ferrule with the reference point, opening the auxiliary legs until they are restricted by the restricting members, and allowing the tripod to stand on its own with three-point support between the main leg and the two auxiliary legs,
The tripod is configured so that, with the main legs and the auxiliary legs closed, the main legs and the auxiliary legs can be tilted toward the auxiliary legs, allowing only the wheels to come into contact with the installation surface and enabling transport . The tripod of claim 1, wherein the axle of the wheel is configured to be eccentric with respect to the axis of the auxiliary leg in a direction away from the main leg. The tripod of claim 1, wherein the axis of the wheel axle is configured to be perpendicular to the axis of the auxiliary leg. The tripod described in any one of claims 1 to 3 is configured so that when the auxiliary legs are opened to a predetermined angle, only the lower ends of the main legs and the auxiliary legs come into contact with the installation surface, leaving a gap between the installation surface and the wheels. A tripod according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each wheel is configured to be parallel when the auxiliary legs are closed. A tripod according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which a main guide member is provided at the midpoint of the main leg and a sub-guide member is provided at the midpoint of the auxiliary leg, and the main guide member and the sub-guide member are connected by a restricting member. The tripod described in any one of claims 1 to 6 further comprises an auxiliary leg fixing member provided midway along the main leg, the auxiliary leg fixing member having a storage section capable of holding the auxiliary leg, and configured so that the auxiliary leg is held in the storage section when the auxiliary leg is closed. A surveying instrument comprising: a tripod according to any one of claims 1 to 7; a fixture attached to the upper end of the tripod; and a surveying instrument body attached to the main leg via the fixture at a known distance from the lower end of the main leg and at a known angle relative to the axis of the main leg, the surveying instrument body having a reference optical axis, the surveying instrument body comprising: a distance measuring unit that emits distance measuring light to measure the distance to a measurement object; an emission direction detecting unit that detects the emission direction of the distance measuring light; an attitude detector that detects the inclination of the surveying instrument body relative to the horizontal; and a calculation control unit that calculates the three-dimensional coordinates of a predetermined measurement point relative to the reference point based on the distance measurement results of the distance measuring unit, the measurement results of the emission direction detecting unit, and the detection results of the attitude detector.