Patents by Inventor Marcel Rohner

Marcel Rohner 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).

  • Patent number: 8896843
    Abstract: A method for speckle mitigation in an interferometric distance meter comprises the steps of transmitting optical radiation with at least one wavelength ? to a target to be surveyed, receiving a portion of the optical radiation scattered back by the target in an optical axis (OA), wherein the optical radiation forms a speckle field, converting the received optical radiation into at least one received signal, determining a true distance to the target from the received signal by absolute or incremental interferometric distance measurements. In the method the true pointing direction relative to the optical axis (OA) is determined, wherein the distance error due to speckle effects is corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Leica Geosystems AG
    Inventors: Marcel Rohner, Yves Salvade
  • Publication number: 20140333918
    Abstract: Highly accurate electro-optical time of flight distance measuring device for determining a distance to a target, including a transmitter for sending out a pulse shaped optical radiation to the target as well as a receiver for an optical signal built for turning the optical signal to an electrical signal, and a filter with a transfer function for filtering the electrical signal whereby the filter is built in such a way that its transfer-function is of at least 4th order, in particular 5th or 7th or higher order, so that aliasing is suppressed. Further a waveform-sampler, as an analog-to-digital-converter, for digitalizing the pulse shape from the filtered electrical signal as time- and value-quantized digital data, and a computation means for a numerical evaluation of the distance according to the pulse shape or a pulse shape representing numerical signature from the digital data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2014
    Publication date: November 13, 2014
    Inventors: Reto STUTZ, Robert FRITSCH, Juerg HINDERLING, Marcel ROHNER
  • Patent number: 8848171
    Abstract: Highly accurate electro-optical time of flight distance measuring device for determining a distance to a target, including a transmitter for sending out a pulse shaped optical radiation to the target as well as a receiver for an optical signal built for turning the optical signal to an electrical signal, and a filter with a transfer function for filtering the electrical signal whereby the filter is built in such a way that its transfer-function is of at least 4th order, in particular 5th or 7th or higher order, so that aliasing is suppressed. Further a waveform-sampler, as an analog-to-digital-converter, for digitalizing the pulse shape from the filtered electrical signal as time- and value-quantized digital data, and a computation means for a numerical evaluation of the distance according to the pulse shape or a pulse shape representing numerical signature from the digital data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Leica Geosystems AG
    Inventors: Reto Stutz, Robert Fritsch, Juerg Hinderling, Marcel Rohner
  • Patent number: 8654341
    Abstract: In a distance-measuring method, chirped laser radiation with two separable radiation components is emitted to at least one target to be surveyed and via a local oscillator path, the radiation components having an opposite chirp as a time dependency of the modulated wavelengths (?1, ?2). After reception of the laser radiation scattered back from the target and passed via the local oscillator path, the laser radiation received is converted into signals and the distance to the at least one target is determined from the signals on the basis of interferometric mixing, separation of the radiation components being effected on the basis of their spectral characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Leica Geosystems AG
    Inventors: Thomas Jensen, Marcel Rohner
  • Patent number: 8654342
    Abstract: In a distance-measuring method comprising a distance-measuring apparatus having at least one frequency-modulatable laser source for producing chirped laser radiation. The laser radiation has radiation components with opposite chirp as time dependency of the modulated wavelengths, the simultaneous oppositeness of the frequency curve being realized via an optical delay path (3) for one of the two radiation components. The radiation produced is passed in a measuring interferometer (5) to a target (6) and parallel via a local Oscillator. After reception of the laser radiation scattered back from the target (6) and passed via the local oscillator path, the laser radiation received is converted into signals and the distance to the at least one target (6) is determined from the signals on the basis of interferometric mixing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Leica Geosystems AG
    Inventors: Thomas Jensen, Marcel Rohner
  • Patent number: 8331624
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for surveying at least one target using a geodetic device. According to said method, a camera of the device captures a visual image and surveys an angle and/or a distance to the target with geodetic precision, the angle and/or distance surveillance being supported or controlled by the visual image. At the same time of capture of the visual image at least two distance points of a distance image are captured as the spatial distribution of discrete distance points in the area of detection. When the visual image and the distance image are correlated with each other, the target is recognized or the measuring process is controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Leica Geosystems AG
    Inventors: Bernhard Braunecker, Marcel Rohner
  • Patent number: 8289523
    Abstract: In a method for generating a synthetic wavelength, particularly for an interferometric distance measuring setup, with a primary laser source defining a primary frequency ?0 and at least a first sideband frequency ?1 of the primary frequency ?0, laser radiation with the first sideband frequency ?1 and a corresponding first wavelength is provided wherein the first sideband frequency ?1 is continuously shifted, particularly by modulating the primary laser source. The synthetic wavelength is generated by combining the first wavelength and a second wavelength which is defined by the primary laser source, particularly by superposition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Leica Geosystems AG
    Inventors: Sébastien Le Floch, Yves Salvade, Thomas Jensen, Marcel Rohner
  • Publication number: 20120257187
    Abstract: Highly accurate electro-optical time of flight distance measuring device for determining a distance to a target, including a transmitter for sending out a pulse shaped optical radiation to the target as well as a receiver for an optical signal built for turning the optical signal to an electrical signal, and a filter with a transfer function for filtering the electrical signal whereby the filter is built in such a way that its transfer-function is of at least 4th order, in particular 5th or 7th or higher order, so that aliasing is suppressed. Further a waveform-sampler, as an analog-to-digital-converter, for digitalizing the pulse shape from the filtered electrical signal as time- and value-quantized digital data, and a computation means for a numerical evaluation of the distance according to the pulse shape or a pulse shape representing numerical signature from the digital data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2010
    Publication date: October 11, 2012
    Applicant: LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Reto Stutz, Robert Fritsch, Juerg Hinderling, Marcel Rohner
  • Publication number: 20120242998
    Abstract: A method for speckle mitigation in an interferometric distance meter comprises the steps of transmitting optical radiation with at least one wavelength ? to a target to be surveyed, receiving a portion of the optical radiation scattered back by the target in an optical axis (OA), wherein the optical radiation forms a speckle field, converting the received optical radiation into at least one received signal, determining a true distance to the target from the received signal by absolute or incremental interferometric distance measurements. In the method the true pointing direction relative to the optical axis (OA) is determined, wherein the distance error due to speckle effects is corrected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2010
    Publication date: September 27, 2012
    Applicant: LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Marcel Rohner, Yves Salvade
  • Publication number: 20110292403
    Abstract: In a distance-measuring method, chirped laser radiation with two separable radiation components is emitted to at least one target to be surveyed and via a local oscillator path, the radiation components having an opposite chirp as a time dependency of the modulated wavelengths (?1, ?2). After reception of the laser radiation scattered back from the target and passed via the local oscillator path, the laser radiation received is converted into signals and the distance to the at least one target is determined from the signals on the basis of interferometric mixing, separation of the radiation components being effected on the basis of their spectral characteristic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2009
    Publication date: December 1, 2011
    Applicant: LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Thomas Jensen, Marcel Rohner
  • Publication number: 20110051146
    Abstract: In a distance-measuring method comprising a distance-measuring apparatus having at least one frequency-modulatable laser source for producing chirped laser radiation. The laser radiation has radiation components with opposite chirp as time dependency of the modulated wavelengths, the simultaneous oppositeness of the frequency curve being realized via an optical delay path (3) for one of the two radiation components. The radiation produced is passed in a measuring interferometer (5) to a target (6) and parallel via a local Oscillator. After reception of the laser radiation scattered back from the target (6) and passed via the local oscillator path, the laser radiation received is converted into signals and the distance to the at least one target (6) is determined from the signals on the basis of interferometric mixing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2009
    Publication date: March 3, 2011
    Applicant: LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Thomas Jensen, Marcel Rohner
  • Patent number: 7800739
    Abstract: A distance measuring method for detecting the spatial dimension of at least one target by at least one emission of a multiplicity of light pulses, in particular laser light, towards the target, detecting the light pulse scattered back by the target by means of a multiplicity of distance measuring pixels and eliminating the distance to the target for each pixel, wherein each light pulse can be detected within a measuring interval Ti from at least two partial intervals tij and the detection of at least one repetition constitutes a detection step performed in at least two stages wherein the measuring interval T˜ is shortened from stage to stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2010
    Assignee: Leica Geosystems AG
    Inventors: Marcel Rohner, Beat Aebischer, Thomas Jensen, Knut Siercks
  • Patent number: 7671971
    Abstract: The invention relates to an electro-optical distance measuring method wherein frequency-modulated optical radiation is emitted onto at least one target to be measured. Once the radiation back-scattered to the target is received, the chirp of radiation is modeled by means of a phase function ?(t) having parameters cj, thereby making description of the deviation of the chirp from the linear profile possible. The parameters used for description are at least partially determined from measurements or are coestimated during numerical signal processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2010
    Assignee: Leica Geosystems AG
    Inventors: Beat Aebischer, Marcel Rohner
  • Publication number: 20100046003
    Abstract: In a method for generating a synthetic wavelength, particularly for an interferometric distance measuring setup, with a primary laser source defining a primary frequency U0 and at least a first sideband frequency U1 of the primary frequency U1, laser radiation with the first sideband frequency O1 and a corresponding first wavelength is provided wherein the first sideband frequency U1 is continuously shifted, particularly by modulating the primary laser source. The synthetic wavelength is generated by combining the first wavelength and a second wavelength which is defined by the primary laser source, particularly by superposition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2007
    Publication date: February 25, 2010
    Applicant: LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Sébastien Le Floch, Yves Salvade, Thomas Jensen, Marcel Rohner
  • Patent number: 7619719
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for interferometric absolute distance measuring by a frequency modulation electromagnetic radiation on at least one measurable target and for subsequently receiving a retransmitted radiation with a heterodyne mixture, wherein the radiation is guided in a parallel direction via a reference interferometric length. In such a way, a first digitized interferogram of the radiation retransmitted by the target and a second digitised interferogram of the radiation guided on the reference length are obtainable at a reception. According to phase progression data of the second interferogram, a virtual interferogram or a phase progression thereof is synthesized and the distance determination is carried out by comparing the progression face data of the first interferogram with the progression face data of the virtual interferogram.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2009
    Assignee: Leica Geosystems AG
    Inventors: Marcel Rohner, Thomas Jensen
  • Publication number: 20090185159
    Abstract: A distance measuring method for detecting the spatial dimension of at least one target by at least one emission of a multiplicity of light pulses, in particular laser light, towards the target, detecting the light pulse scattered back by the target by means of a multiplicity of distance measuring pixels and eliminating the distance to the target for each pixel, wherein each light pulse can be detected within a measuring interval Ti from at least two partial intervals ti,j and the detection of at least one repetition constitutes a detection step performed in at least two stages wherein the measuring interval Ti is shortened from stage to stage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2007
    Publication date: July 23, 2009
    Applicant: LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Marcel Rohner, Beat Aebischer, Thomas Jensen, Knut Siercks
  • Publication number: 20090135403
    Abstract: The invention relates to an electro-optical distance measuring method wherein frequency-modulated optical radiation is emitted onto at least one target to be measured. Once the radiation back-scattered to the target is received, the chirp of radiation is modeled by means of a phase function ?(t) having parameters cj, thereby making description of the deviation of the chirp from the linear profile possible. The parameters used for description are at least partially determined from measurements or are coestimated during numerical signal processing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2005
    Publication date: May 28, 2009
    Applicant: LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Beat Aebischer, Marcel Rohner
  • Publication number: 20080205707
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for surveying at least one target using a geodetic device. According to said method, a camera of the device captures a visual image and surveys an angle and/or a distance to the target with geodetic precision, the angle and/or distance surveillance being supported or controlled by the visual image. At the same time of capture of the visual image at least two distance points of a distance image are captured as the spatial distribution of discrete distance points in the area of detection. When the visual image and the distance image are correlated with each other, the target is recognized or the measuring process is controlled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2006
    Publication date: August 28, 2008
    Applicant: LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Bernhard Braunecker, Marcel Rohner
  • Publication number: 20080204698
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for interferometric absolute distance measuring by a frequency modulation electromagnetic radiation on at least one measurable target and for subsequently receiving a retransmitted radiation with a heterodyne mixture, wherein the radiation is guided in a parallel direction via a reference interferometric length. In such a way, a first digitised interferogram of the radiation retransmitted by the target and a second digitised interferogram of the radiation guided on the reference length are obtainable at a reception. According to phase progression data of the second interferogram, a virtual interferogram or a phase progression thereof is synthesised and the distance determination is carried out by comparing the progression face data of the first interferogram with the progression face data of the virtual interferogram.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2006
    Publication date: August 28, 2008
    Applicant: LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Marcel Rohner, Thomas Jensen