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).
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Publication number: 20240110784Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: September 21, 2023Publication date: April 4, 2024Inventors: Akinobu SUGIURA, Nobuyuki NISHITA
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Publication number: 20230314135Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: March 23, 2023Publication date: October 5, 2023Inventors: Masaho KIKUCHI, Akinobu SUGIURA
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Patent number: 11703329Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: August 5, 2020Date of Patent: July 18, 2023Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATIONInventors: Yosuke Okudaira, Akinobu Sugiura, Yasutoshi Aoki
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Patent number: 11550034Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: February 25, 2020Date of Patent: January 10, 2023Assignee: TOPCON CorporationInventors: Kaoru Kumagai, Minoru Chiba, Akinobu Sugiura
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Publication number: 20210063153Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: August 5, 2020Publication date: March 4, 2021Inventors: Yosuke OKUDAIRA, Akinobu SUGIURA, Yasutoshi AOKI
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Patent number: 10914454Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: March 12, 2020Date of Patent: February 9, 2021Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATIONInventor: Akinobu Sugiura
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Patent number: 10900639Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: March 12, 2020Date of Patent: January 26, 2021Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATIONInventor: Akinobu Sugiura
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Publication number: 20200309351Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: March 12, 2020Publication date: October 1, 2020Inventor: Akinobu SUGIURA
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Publication number: 20200309350Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: March 12, 2020Publication date: October 1, 2020Inventor: Akinobu SUGIURA
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Publication number: 20200271758Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: February 25, 2020Publication date: August 27, 2020Inventors: Kaoru Kumagai, Minoru Chiba, Akinobu Sugiura
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Patent number: 10732267Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: June 27, 2017Date of Patent: August 4, 2020Assignee: TOPCON CorporationInventors: Akinobu Sugiura, Masahiro Ohishi
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Patent number: 10663296Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: January 24, 2018Date of Patent: May 26, 2020Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATIONInventors: Akinobu Sugiura, Masahiro Ohishi
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Patent number: 10215561Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: January 17, 2017Date of Patent: February 26, 2019Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATIONInventors: Homare Momiyama, Akinobu Sugiura, Hideyuki Matsumoto
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Publication number: 20180245917Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: January 24, 2018Publication date: August 30, 2018Inventors: Akinobu SUGIURA, Masahiro OHISHI
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Publication number: 20180011177Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: June 27, 2017Publication date: January 11, 2018Inventors: Akinobu Sugiura, Masahiro Ohishi
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Patent number: 9746683Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: August 9, 2016Date of Patent: August 29, 2017Assignee: TOPCON CORPORATIONInventor: Akinobu Sugiura
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Publication number: 20170205233Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: January 17, 2017Publication date: July 20, 2017Inventors: Homare MOMIYAMA, Akinobu SUGIURA, Hideyuki MATSUMOTO
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Publication number: 20170045748Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: August 9, 2016Publication date: February 16, 2017Inventor: Akinobu SUGIURA
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Patent number: 7345748Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: May 13, 2005Date of Patent: March 18, 2008Assignee: Sokkia Co. Ltd.Inventors: Akinobu Sugiura, Minoru Chiba, Masaru Muraki, Masataka Kawakami
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Patent number: 7193695Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: January 28, 2005Date of Patent: March 20, 2007Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisya SokkiaInventor: Akinobu Sugiura