JPH0335645B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a light beam emitting device, and more specifically, to a system for detecting inclination angle of a moving object, which the present applicant has developed.
The present invention relates to a beam light emitting device which can be particularly suitably applied as a light source device for emitting a sensing light beam in a system already proposed by No. 67812).

Conventionally, in this type of beam emitting device,
Since the configuration is such that the emission direction of the beam light can be changed by changing the direction of the light source itself, there are the following disadvantages.

That is, in order to change the emission direction of the beam light, a mechanism with a relatively large mass must be driven, so the driving mechanism for changing the direction becomes large-scale, and therefore the direction change speed (scanning speed) could not be made faster.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to freely change the direction of the beam light emitted from the light source without changing the direction of the light source itself, and to increase the sensing range of the beam light. An object of the present invention is to provide a beam light emitting device that can be expanded.

In order to achieve the above object, a light beam emitting device according to the present invention includes a light source that is fixed at a fixed position and emits a beam-shaped light beam in a predetermined direction, and a reflection device that reflects the light beam in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the light beam. is provided rotatably around the optical axis, and is arranged parallel to the optical axis at a predetermined distance on a frame that is rotationally driven together with the reflecting device around the optical axis and near the reflecting device. An optical scanner is provided at the intersection of the axis reflected by the reflection device and the light beam reflected by the reflection device, and this optical scanner uses the light beam reflected by the reflection device as incident light and detects the intersection point. It is characterized in that it is configured to be deflected to spread out over a predetermined angular range around the center and reflected in a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis.

Because of the above characteristics, the following excellent effects have been achieved.

In other words, it is possible to freely change the emission direction of the light beam by simply rotating the reflector without changing the direction of the light source itself, so the only mechanism for changing the emission direction is simply rotating the reflector. It can be simple, and therefore the rotational drive mechanism of the reflector can be made smaller and lighter.

In addition, since the mechanism for rotating the reflector can be simplified, the rotation speed can be significantly increased compared to the conventional method, which has the effect of increasing the speed at which the direction of light beam emission can be changed. There is.

Furthermore, since the light source itself does not need to be moved, it is possible to freely select a light source with any output intensity corresponding to the required beam intensity, and it is possible to freely select a light source with any output intensity according to the required beam intensity. Since there is no need to install a light source, the light source can be installed at a location away from the actual beam emission position by guiding the light beam from the light source to a rotating reflector using an appropriate reflector or optical fiber. It is also possible.

Furthermore, an optical scanner installed near the reflector detects the intersection of the light beam from the reflector with an axis parallel to the optical axis from the light source at a predetermined distance. Since the beam is deflected in a state where it spreads over a predetermined angular range around the center, sensing can be performed in that expanded range, making it easier for the light beam to be projected onto the sensing target, so that sensing can be performed quickly. Summer.

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

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a beam-shaped light beam L is emitted downward along the vertical axis Z onto the upper part of the chassis 1 which is rotationally driven around the vertical axis Z by a motor Mz. In order to achieve this, a laser beam oscillator 2 as a light source is fixed on a frame 3.
A mirror 4 is provided on the optical axis of the light beam L, that is, the vertical axis Z, as a reflecting device for changing the emission direction of the light beam to the horizontal axis X direction. In addition,
This mirror 4 is rotatably supported together with the chassis 1 by the motor Mz around a vertical axis Z, and the laser beam emitted downward from the oscillator 2 fixed to the frame 3 by the mirror 4 The firing direction is changed by directing L toward the horizontal axis X direction.

Next, the light beam L whose emission direction is changed in the horizontal axis X direction by the mirror 4 is provided on the horizontal axis X and rotated around the vertical tracing axis T by the tracing motor M _T. It is configured to be deflected and emitted into a beam L' that spreads out in a fan shape in the horizontal direction by an optical scanner 5 that is rotatably supported.

Further, the optical scanner 5 is rotatably supported around the horizontal axis X by a motor Mx together with a tracing motor M _T , and swings the entire fan-shaped beam L' in the vertical direction. It is configured freely.

Encoders Ez, E T , and Ex as angle detectors are interlocked and connected to each of the motors Mz, M _T , and Mx to detect the rotation angles of the respective axes Z, T, and X, and the encoders Ez, E _T , and Ex serve as angle detectors. The scanning of the light beams L and L' can be controlled based on the detection angles of Ez, E _T , and Ex.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rotation center T of the fan-shaped beam L' is eccentric from the vertical axis Z, but the distance between each axis T and Z is constant, and the distance is also Since it can be made small and can be sufficiently corrected, it does not pose a practical problem.

Further, the optical scanner 5 as a means for deflecting the beam light L into a fan-shaped beam light L',
Not only electromagnetic means such as a galvanometer but also optical means such as a cylindrical lens may be used.

Furthermore, the encoder for detecting the rotation angle may be any means such as a rotary encoder, a resolver, or a potentiometer.

Hereinafter, a system for leveling a moving object with respect to a predetermined reference plane using the beam light emitting device configured as described above will be briefly described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the beam light emitting device U having the above configuration is supported as a whole on a movable body V so as to be vertically movable, and the three corner cube prisms A, B, and C are relatively connected to each other. They are arranged in three known positions close together to form a triangle.

Then, the beam is emitted from the beam light emitting device U by a light receiver S provided at substantially the same position as the beam light emitting device U, and is reflected by the corner cube prisms A, B, and C and returned. The elevation angle of the beam L' is determined by the encoder E _Y , which receives the coming beam L and detects the vertical movement of the respective encoders Ez, Ex and the emitting device U at the time of receiving the beam L.
The position and direction of the emitting device U is adjusted so that reflected light is finally received from all of the corner cube prisms A, B, and C at the same time. Leveling is performed with respect to a predetermined reference plane formed by corner cube prisms A, B, and C.

Note that although numbers are written in the claims section for convenient comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the beam light emitting device according to the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view, Fig. 2 is a side sectional view, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation, and Fig. 4 is an illustration of the leveling system. It is an explanatory diagram. 2...Light source, 3...Frame, 4...Reflector, 5...Optical scanner, L...Beam ray, T...Axis, Z...Optical axis, X...Orthogonal to optical axis Z direction.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A light source 2 is provided that is fixed at a fixed position and emits a beam-shaped light beam L in a predetermined direction, and a reflection device 4 that reflects the light beam L in a direction X orthogonal to the optical axis Z is rotatable around the optical axis Z. an axis disposed parallel to the optical axis Z at a predetermined distance on the frame 3 which is rotatably driven together with the reflecting device 4 around the optical axis Z and near the reflecting device 4; An optical scanner 5 is provided at the intersection of T and the light beam L reflected by the reflection device 4, and the optical scanner 5
is to deflect the light ray L reflected by the reflection device 4 as an incident light so as to spread over a predetermined angular range centered on the intersection position, and to direct it in a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis Z. A beam light emitting device characterized in that the light beam emitting device is configured to reflect the light beam.