Abstract: Distances to targets (2a, 2b) are simultaneously determined in a method for measuring distance according to the phase measuring principle with a time discrete emission of periodic signals (7) and a sampling of received signals for generating and optionally storing sampled values, whereby the signals have signal portions that are reflected by the targets (2a, 2b) and superimposed. A statistical parameter estimation problem based on a mathematical signal model is solved in such a manner that the number of the targets (2a, 2b) for more than one target (2a, 2b) is preset or fundamentally, the number of targets is determined by the method, and the inequalities D??Dk<D+ and l?k?K are valid. The preset distances D??IR and D+?IR with D?<D+ set the measuring range of the distance measuring device.

Abstract: Distances to targets (2a, 2b) are simultaneously determined in a method for measuring distance according to the phase measuring principle with a time discrete emission of periodic signals (7) and a sampling of received signals for generating and optionally storing sampled values, whereby the signals have signal portions that are reflected by the targets (2a, 2b) and superimposed. A statistical parameter estimation problem based on a mathematical signal model is solved in such a manner that the number of the targets (2a, 2b) for more than one target (2a, 2b) is preset or fundamentally, the number of targets is determined by the method, and the inequalities D??Dk<D+ and 1?k?K are valid. The preset distances D??R and D+?R with D?<D+ set the measuring range of the distance measuring device.

Abstract: Calibration of measuring instruments resides in measuring external references which themselves have been measured with other devices and contain positioning errors. A method/system/apparatus is disclosed for calibration of a measuring instrument using at least two partial systems, one having structural elements that can be imaged on a detecting component to calibrate the instrument without the use of external references.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and device for calibrating a measuring instrument with at least two partial systems (<I>K;M</I>), which can be displaced with regard to one another, and with means for generating an image of at least one first partial system (<I>K</I>) on at least one detecting component (<I>A</I>) of at least one partial system. The invention provides that after establishing a mathematical model, a parameter set, which quantifies influencing factors on systematic measurement errors of the measuring instrument and which has at least one parameter, is derived from the mathematical model. Afterwards, the imaging of the structure elements (<I>S</I>) of a first partial system (<I>K</I>), said structure elements determining the relative position of a partial system, ensues on a second partial system (<I>M</I>).