Patents by Inventor Akinobu Sugiura

Akinobu Sugiura has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240110784
    Abstract: A surveying instrument having a tracking function with a measure against sunlight is provided which includes a tracking unit and a distance-measuring unit, a driving unit, an imaging device, a filter switching device configured to make switching so that either of two filters is selectively disposed on an optical axis of the imaging device, and a control unit configured to, when the imaging device acquires an image including tracking guide light, analyze the image and operate an arrival direction of the tracking guide light, and control the driving unit so that a collimation axis is directed toward the arrival direction of the tracking guide light, wherein one filter of the two filters is a tracking guide light filter configured to transmit only wavelengths in a predetermined range centered on a wavelength of the tracking guide light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2023
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Inventors: Akinobu SUGIURA, Nobuyuki NISHITA
  • Publication number: 20230314135
    Abstract: A surveying instrument capable of irradiating a spotlight as visible light for centering toward a position below a vertical axis of a surveying instrument main body is configured such that that an irradiation shape of the spotlight is a toric shape. When visible light for centering which passes through a center point of the surveying instrument and is projected on a position right below the surveying instrument is projected in a toric shape having a hole opened at a center like a donut shape, both of an inner circle and an outer circle can be recognized, so that many guides are provided, and it is easier for a worker to align the toric shape with the target point than a point shape, so that the burden of a centering work on the worker is reduced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2023
    Publication date: October 5, 2023
    Inventors: Masaho KIKUCHI, Akinobu SUGIURA
  • Patent number: 11703329
    Abstract: Provided is a surveying instrument configured so that the optical axis of a guide light irradiation unit that irradiates guide light for guiding a survey operator and the optical axis of a lens barrel portion of a distance-measuring optical system become parallel to each other on a horizontal plane. The guide light irradiation unit is not disposed above the lens barrel portion that substantially matches a collimation direction is horizontally shifted with respect to the lens barrel portion. The horizontal shift distance D is configured so that a horizontal distance D between the optical axis of guide light and the optical axis of the lens barrel portion satisfies tan(?/2)×Cmin>D provided that ? is an irradiation angle of the guide light in the horizontal direction, and Cmin is a shortest use distance of the surveying instrument.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yosuke Okudaira, Akinobu Sugiura, Yasutoshi Aoki
  • Patent number: 11550034
    Abstract: Provided is a target instrument including a pole, a prism provided on the pole, and a terminal device provided on the pole, wherein the terminal device comprises an image pickup module, a tilt sensor which detects tilts in two axial directions, and an arithmetic control module, wherein the image pickup module acquires an image which includes a reference object, the tilt sensor detects a tilt angle of a target instrument, and the arithmetic control module calculates a tilt direction of the target instrument from a position of the reference object in the image, calculates a tilt direction of the target instrument based on tilt angles in the two axial directions of the tilt sensor, acquires a deviation between the two tilt directions, and corrects the tilt angles in the two axial directions of the tilt sensor to tilt angles in directions parallel to an optical axis of the image pickup module and orthogonal to the optical axis based on the deviation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: TOPCON Corporation
    Inventors: Kaoru Kumagai, Minoru Chiba, Akinobu Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20210063153
    Abstract: Provided is a surveying instrument configured so that the optical axis of a guide light irradiation unit that irradiates guide light for guiding a survey operator and the optical axis of a lens barrel portion of a distance-measuring optical system become parallel to each other on a horizontal plane. The guide light irradiation unit is not disposed above the lens barrel portion that substantially matches a collimation direction is horizontally shifted with respect to the lens barrel portion. The horizontal shift distance D is configured so that a horizontal distance D between the optical axis of guide light and the optical axis of the lens barrel portion satisfies tan(?/2)×Cmin>D provided that ? is an irradiation angle of the guide light in the horizontal direction, and Cmin is a shortest use distance of the surveying instrument.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2020
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Inventors: Yosuke OKUDAIRA, Akinobu SUGIURA, Yasutoshi AOKI
  • Patent number: 10914454
    Abstract: A guide light irradiation device to irradiate guide light to indicate a direction to a survey operator, includes a plurality of irradiators configured to each irradiate guide light differing in pattern between the left and the right of an irradiation direction as a center, the plurality of irradiators are juxtaposed in a left-right direction, and irradiation units of the plurality of irradiators are disposed so that the irradiation units match in the horizontal direction, and optical axes of the plurality of irradiators make a predetermined angle with each other in the vertical direction. Synthetic light of the respective guide lights has brightness obtained by summing brightnesses of the light sources of the respective irradiators, and has a fan shape extending in the vertical direction. A distance at which the light is visually recognized is long, and the guide light is easily found even at a location with level differences.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akinobu Sugiura
  • Patent number: 10900639
    Abstract: A guide light irradiation device to irradiate guide light to indicate a direction to a survey operator, includes a plurality of irradiators configured to each irradiate guide light differing in pattern between the left and the right of an irradiation direction as a center, the plurality of irradiators are juxtaposed in the up-down direction, and are disposed so that irradiation directions of the respective irradiators match in the horizontal direction, and make a predetermined angle with each other in the vertical direction. Synthetic light of guide lights irradiated from the respective irradiators has brightness as a sum of brightnesses of light sources of the respective irradiators, and has a fan shape extending in the vertical direction. A distance from which light is visually recognized is long, and guide light is easily found even at a location with level differences.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akinobu Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20200309351
    Abstract: A guide light irradiation device to irradiate guide light to indicate a direction to a survey operator, includes a plurality of irradiators configured to each irradiate guide light differing in pattern between the left and the right of an irradiation direction as a center, the plurality of irradiators are juxtaposed in a left-right direction, and irradiation units of the plurality of irradiators are disposed so that the irradiation units match in the horizontal direction, and optical axes of the plurality of irradiators make a predetermined angle with each other in the vertical direction. Synthetic light of the respective guide lights has brightness obtained by summing brightnesses of the light sources of the respective irradiators, and has a fan shape extending in the vertical direction. A distance at which the light is visually recognized is long, and the guide light is easily found even at a location with level differences.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Inventor: Akinobu SUGIURA
  • Publication number: 20200309350
    Abstract: A guide light irradiation device to irradiate guide light to indicate a direction to a survey operator, includes a plurality of irradiators configured to each irradiate guide light differing in pattern between the left and the right of an irradiation direction as a center, the plurality of irradiators are juxtaposed in the up-down direction, and are disposed so that irradiation directions of the respective irradiators match in the horizontal direction, and make a predetermined angle with each other in the vertical direction. Synthetic light of guide lights irradiated from the respective irradiators has brightness as a sum of brightnesses of light sources of the respective irradiators, and has a fan shape extending in the vertical direction. A distance from which light is visually recognized is long, and guide light is easily found even at a location with level differences.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Inventor: Akinobu SUGIURA
  • Publication number: 20200271758
    Abstract: Provided is a target instrument including a pole, a prism provided on the pole, and a terminal device provided on the pole, wherein the terminal device comprises an image pickup module, a tilt sensor which detects tilts in two axial directions, and an arithmetic control module, wherein the image pickup module acquires an image which includes a reference object, the tilt sensor detects a tilt angle of a target instrument, and the arithmetic control module calculates a tilt direction of the target instrument from a position of the reference object in the image, calculates a tilt direction of the target instrument based on tilt angles in the two axial directions of the tilt sensor, acquires a deviation between the two tilt directions, and corrects the tilt angles in the two axial directions of the tilt sensor to tilt angles in directions parallel to an optical axis of the image pickup module and orthogonal to the optical axis based on the deviation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Publication date: August 27, 2020
    Inventors: Kaoru Kumagai, Minoru Chiba, Akinobu Sugiura
  • Patent number: 10732267
    Abstract: An electro-optical distance meter comprises a light source for emitting a distance measuring light, a distance measuring optical system for leading a distance measuring light to a photodetector, an internal reference optical system for leading a part of the distance measuring light as an internal reference light to the photodetector, and an arithmetic processing unit for performing a distance measurement based on light receiving results of the distance measuring light and the internal reference light, wherein the internal reference optical system comprises a condenser lens, a scattering plate for scattering the internal reference light and for forming a secondary light source, and an optical fiber for leading the internal reference light to the photodetector and the internal reference optical system is constituted in such a manner that a light component of the internal reference light emitted from an arbitrary point within a whole surface of the secondary light source enters the optical fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: TOPCON Corporation
    Inventors: Akinobu Sugiura, Masahiro Ohishi
  • Patent number: 10663296
    Abstract: Provided is a surveying instrument including a light emitting section for emitting distance measuring light having an intensity distribution in which an intensity is high at the center and it became lower as approaching the periphery, a light receiving section for receiving the distance measuring light via a measurement object; and a distance-measurement optical system for guiding the light to the light receiving section via the measurement object. The surveying instrument performs a prism-mode and non-prism-mode measurements. The optical system includes an aperture diaphragm arranged in a distance-measurement optical path during the prism-mode-measurement. An opening of the aperture diaphragm has widths of greater than 0 and not greater than 0.5 times the full width at half maximum of the intensity distribution in a cross-section of non-prism-distance-measurement beam in the horizontal and vertical direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akinobu Sugiura, Masahiro Ohishi
  • Patent number: 10215561
    Abstract: A method of designing a container of a liquid reflection inclination sensor includes a liquid surface calculating step (S1) that calculates a shape of a liquid surface of a liquid in a horizontal direction “x” and a vertical direction “y” by utilizing the Young-Laplace formula and the hydrostatic pressure formula, the liquid surface formed on a plate extending vertically and infinitely with respect to a horizontal part of the liquid surface, an optical simulation step (S2) that obtains a light receiving pattern by reflecting a dark field pattern (4?) irradiated from an imaginary light source (2?) on an imaginary mirror plane (9a?) having the shape of the liquid surface, and a container adjusting step (S3-S4) that adjusts a shape of a cylindrical container (10) for enclosing the liquid by judging whether image accuracy of the light receiving pattern satisfies demanded sensor accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Homare Momiyama, Akinobu Sugiura, Hideyuki Matsumoto
  • Publication number: 20180245917
    Abstract: Provided is a surveying instrument including a light emitting section for emitting distance measuring light having an intensity distribution in which an intensity is high at the center and it became lower as approaching the periphery, a light receiving section for receiving the distance measuring light via a measurement object; and a distance-measurement optical system for guiding the light to the light receiving section via the measurement object. The surveying instrument performs a prism-mode and non-prism-mode measurements. The optical system includes an aperture diaphragm arranged in a distance-measurement optical path during the prism-mode-measurement. An opening of the aperture diaphragm has widths of greater than 0 and not greater than 0.5 times the full width at half maximum of the intensity distribution in a cross-section of non-prism-distance-measurement beam in the horizontal and vertical direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 24, 2018
    Publication date: August 30, 2018
    Inventors: Akinobu SUGIURA, Masahiro OHISHI
  • Publication number: 20180011177
    Abstract: An electro-optical distance meter comprises a light source for emitting a distance measuring light, a distance measuring optical system for leading a distance measuring light to a photodetector, an internal reference optical system for leading a part of the distance measuring light as an internal reference light to the photodetector, and an arithmetic processing unit for performing a distance measurement based on light receiving results of the distance measuring light and the internal reference light, wherein the internal reference optical system comprises a condenser lens, a scattering plate for scattering the internal reference light and for forming a secondary light source, and an optical fiber for leading the internal reference light to the photodetector and the internal reference optical system is constituted in such a manner that a light component of the internal reference light emitted from an arbitrary point within a whole surface of the secondary light source enters the optical fiber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2017
    Publication date: January 11, 2018
    Inventors: Akinobu Sugiura, Masahiro Ohishi
  • Patent number: 9746683
    Abstract: In an automatic survey instrument that divides reflected light from a target into collimation light, range-finding light, and tracking light, a configuration of an optical absorption filter for visible light absorption to be used for SN ratio improvement is simplified, and deterioration in automatic tracking performance due to a defect inside the optical absorption filter is suppressed. Between two prisms (41, 43) defining a second reflecting surface (45) of a dichroic prism (40) through which reflected light from a target enters, an optical absorption filter (46) that absorbs a wavelength band of visible light is inserted, and the second reflecting surface (45) is formed at a border between a rear surface of the optical absorption filter (46) with respect to a light propagation direction and a surface of the prism (43) on the rear side of the optical absorption filter in the light propagation direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akinobu Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20170205233
    Abstract: A method of designing a container of a liquid reflection inclination sensor includes a liquid surface calculating step (S1) that calculates a shape of a liquid surface of a liquid in a horizontal direction “x” and a vertical direction “y” by utilizing the Young-Laplace formula and the hydrostatic pressure formula, the liquid surface formed on a plate extending vertically and infinitely with respect to a horizontal part of the liquid surface, an optical simulation step (S2) that obtains a light receiving pattern by reflecting a dark field pattern (4?) irradiated from an imaginary light source (2?) on an imaginary mirror plane (9a?) having the shape of the liquid surface, and a container adjusting step (S3-S4) that adjusts a shape of a cylindrical container (10) for enclosing the liquid by judging whether image accuracy of the light receiving pattern satisfies demanded sensor accuracy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2017
    Publication date: July 20, 2017
    Inventors: Homare MOMIYAMA, Akinobu SUGIURA, Hideyuki MATSUMOTO
  • Publication number: 20170045748
    Abstract: In an automatic survey instrument that divides reflected light from a target into collimation light, range-finding light, and tracking light, a configuration of an optical absorption filter for visible light absorption to be used for SN ratio improvement is simplified, and deterioration in automatic tracking performance due to a defect inside the optical absorption filter is suppressed. Between two prisms (41, 43) defining a second reflecting surface (45) of a dichroic prism (40) through which reflected light from a target enters, an optical absorption filter (46) that absorbs a wavelength band of visible light is inserted, and the second reflecting surface (45) is formed at a border between a rear surface of the optical absorption filter (46) with respect to a light propagation direction and a surface of the prism (43) on the rear side of the optical absorption filter in the light propagation direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2016
    Publication date: February 16, 2017
    Inventor: Akinobu SUGIURA
  • Patent number: 7345748
    Abstract: In a survey system in which guide light is emitted from the side of a target, and, on the side of a surveying instrument, a telescope is directed roughly toward the target by receiving the guide light so as to shorten the time required for automatic collimation, the automatic collimation of the surveying instrument can be reliably performed by removing guide light reflected by reflective objects such as windowpanes. The target has a guide light remitter that emits guide light The guide light transmitter includes a light source, a polarizing plate that changes light emitted from this light source into linearly polarized light, and a quarter-wave plate that changes this nearly polarized light into circularly polarized guide light The surveying instrument includes a direction detector and a collimation preparing means. The direction detector includes a quarter-wave plate and a polarizing plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2008
    Assignee: Sokkia Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Akinobu Sugiura, Minoru Chiba, Masaru Muraki, Masataka Kawakami
  • Patent number: 7193695
    Abstract: A survey system for transmitting guide light for instructing the direction of a target, the guide light having a wide range with small power. The survey system includes a target having a recursion reflector for reflecting light and a survey apparatus having an automatic collimation device for automatically coinciding the collimation axis of the recursion reflector with that of a telescope. The target includes a guide light transmitter for emitting guide light and scans a fan beam that is wide in the horizontal direction and narrow in the vertical direction in the vertical direction as guide light. The survey apparatus includes a direction detector for receiving guide light and detecting the direction of the guide light transmitter and also includes a collimation preparing device for turning the telescope roughly to the recursion reflector based on an output signal from the direction detector prior to commencing the automatic collimation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisya Sokkia
    Inventor: Akinobu Sugiura