Patents by Inventor Simon BESTLER

Simon BESTLER 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: 20260118486
    Abstract: A mobile scanning instrument mounted on a carrier vehicle, and configured to acquire point cloud data representing a target area. The mobile scan instrument comprise a beam deflection element having a first and a second wedge mounted rotatable about the central axis. The wedges deflect the scanning beam with a first and a second deflection angle. The two defection angles are different. The scanning instrument configured to provide a first scan pattern having a circular shape by rotating the wedges in the same direction and a second scan pattern having an elliptical shape by rotating the wedges in the opposite direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2024
    Publication date: April 30, 2026
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Jan-Michael MASUR, Simon BESTLER, Rainer WOHLGENANNT
  • Publication number: 20250306205
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a multi-channel distance measuring module for providing scanning of an environment. The distance measuring module comprises an emitter for emitting emission signals and a sensor unit embodied as integrated circuit, which comprises a multi-channel receiver with a detection surface comprising multiple detection elements arranged as a matrix structure on a chip, and a trigger unit configured to generate a sensor output trigger signal that provides trigger times defined by the sensor unit. Each of the multiple channels of the receiver is provided by a macro-pixel formed by a subset of the detection elements associated to the detection channel. The distance measuring module further comprises a signal shifting unit external to the sensor unit for altering the time positioning of actual emission instants by the emitter relative to a sampling clock of the sensor unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2025
    Publication date: October 2, 2025
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Rainer WOHLGENANNT, Simon BESTLER, Jan-Michael MASUR
  • Publication number: 20250284004
    Abstract: An absolute distance measuring method and device including a transmission unit having a laser array comprising multiple measurement laser emitters arranged along a laser array axis and a receiver unit having at least one receiver array comprising multiple measurement receivers arranged along a receiver array axis for measuring of an absolute distance based on a respective detected transmission beam and the principle of time-of-flight. The laser array comprises at least a first reference laser emitter and the receiver array comprises at least a first reference receiver. The reference laser emitter and reference receiver define an internal absolute distance reference beam path for calibration of the device with respect to said measuring of absolute distance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2025
    Publication date: September 11, 2025
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Rainer WOHLGENANNT, Martin DE LANGE, Benjamin SEIFERT, Simon BESTLER, Jürg HINDERLING
  • Publication number: 20250208263
    Abstract: A scanning instrument for laser-based airborne surveying comprising two wedges and a lead deflector. Each of the two wedges is rotatably mounted in a beam path of an outgoing measurement beam. The lead deflector is mounted with a fixed spatial relationship with the first of the two wedges and has a cross section smaller than the two wedges. The outgoing measurement beam first passes the lead deflector and then the two wedges. At most, a small portion of the returning radiation passes through the lead deflector, while the greater portion of the returning radiation is deflected by the two wedges without interacting with the lead deflector. The lead deflector creates a lead of the outgoing measurement beam in relation to the movement direction of the outgoing measurement beam associated with a spiral scan pattern generated by a rotation of the two wedges.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2024
    Publication date: June 26, 2025
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Simon BESTLER, Jan-Michael MASUR, Rainer WOHLGENANNT
  • Patent number: 12339360
    Abstract: An absolute distance measuring method and device including a transmission unit having a laser array comprising multiple measurement laser emitters arranged along a laser array axis and a receiver unit having at least one receiver array comprising multiple measurement receivers arranged along a receiver array axis for measuring of an absolute distance based on a respective detected transmission beam and the principle of time-of-flight. The laser array comprises at least a first reference laser emitter and the receiver array comprises at least a first reference receiver. The reference laser emitter and reference receiver define an internal absolute distance reference beam path for calibration of the device with respect to said measuring of absolute distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2025
    Assignee: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Rainer Wohlgenannt, Martin De Lange, Benjamin Seifert, Simon Bestler, Jürg Hinderling
  • Publication number: 20240210565
    Abstract: A range imaging module and a reality capture device comprising a range imaging module and configured to generate 3D measurement data for generating a digital representation of an environment. The range imaging module comprises a cover, which is transparent for at least part of distance measurement radiation of the range imaging module and which comprises a band-pass filter coating. The cover with the band-pass filter coating is arranged in a collimated beam region outside an imaging unit of the range imaging module and encloses the imaging unit, so that returning distance measurement radiation from an imaging field of view of the imaging unit first passes the cover with the band-pass filter coating and then the imaging unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2023
    Publication date: June 27, 2024
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Simon BESTLER, Peter KIPFER, Andreas WALSER, Rainer WOHLGENANNT, Jan-Michael MASUR
  • Publication number: 20240200943
    Abstract: A geodetic surveying device, which comprises a laser distance measurement module being configured to take into account a dispersive compensation by means of a two-color process. The surveying device further comprises a reference channel and a beam splitting arrangement configured to split part of the measurement beam into the reference channel. The reference channel comprises a wavelength determination assembly configured to provide a wavelength measurement that provides measured wavelengths of the two beam components to be used for the two-color process, wherein the surveying device is configured to take into account the measured wavelengths to derive the dispersive compensation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2023
    Publication date: June 20, 2024
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Simon BESTLER, Jürg HINDERLING, Paul BENZ
  • Patent number: 11859976
    Abstract: A target reflector search device. This device comprises an emitting unit for emitting an emission fan, a motorized device for moving the emission fan over a spatial region, and a receiving unit for reflected portions of the emission fan within a fan-shaped acquisition region, and a locating unit for determining a location of the reflection. An optoelectronic detector of the receiving unit is formed as a position-resolving optoelectronic detector having a linear arrangement of a plurality of pixels, each formed as an SPAD array, and the receiving unit comprises an optical system having an imaging fixed-focus optical unit, wherein the optical system and the optoelectronic detector are arranged and configured in such a way that portions of the optical radiation reflected from a point in the acquisition region are expanded on the sensitivity surface of the optoelectronic detector in such a way that blurry imaging takes place.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Andreas Walser, Simon Bestler
  • Patent number: 11860312
    Abstract: A measuring device comprises a base, a case, and a rotating member rotatable about the axis of rotation. The rotating member comprises a transmission unit configured to emit transmission beams to different beam directions. The rotating member further comprises a receiver unit configured to receive returning transmission beams. A longitudinal member is fixed to the base and extends in a central area of the rotating member along the axis of rotation over a range including the transmission unit and the receiver unit. Two bearing members are arranged on the longitudinal member and on the rotating member. In the direction of the axis of rotation, the transmission unit and the receiver unit are located in a range between the two bearing members. The measuring device has a high aiming accuracy and low hysteresis of the turning transmission beams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Rainer Wohlgenannt, Jürg Hinderling, Simon Bestler
  • Patent number: 11733043
    Abstract: A target reflector search device. This device comprises an emitting unit for emitting an emission fan, a motorized device for moving the emission fan over a spatial region, and a receiving unit for reflected portions of the emission fan within a fan-shaped acquisition region, and a locating unit for determining a location of the reflection. An optoelectronic detector of the receiving unit is formed as a position-resolving optoelectronic detector having a linear arrangement of a plurality of pixels, each formed as an SPAD array, and the receiving unit comprises an optical system having an imaging fixed-focus optical unit, wherein the optical system and the optoelectronic detector are arranged and configured in such a way that portions of the optical radiation reflected from a point in the acquisition region are expanded on the sensitivity surface of the optoelectronic detector in such a way that blurry imaging takes place.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Jürg Hinderling, Simon Bestler, Peter Kipfer, Andreas Walser, Markus Geser
  • Patent number: 11725935
    Abstract: A distance meter for the high-accuracy single-point distance measurement to a target point by means of an oriented emitted beam, wherein the receiver has an optoelectronic sensor based on an arrangement of microcells for acquiring the received beam. The receiver and a computer unit are configured in this case for deriving a set of runtimes with respect to different cross-sectional components of the received beam acquired using subregions of the receiver, and therefore, for example, an evaluation is enabled as to whether the received beam has parts of the emitted beam reflected on a single target or a multiple target in its lateral extension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Jürg Hinderling, Simon Bestler, Thomas Piok, Andreas Walser, Rainer Wohlgenannt
  • Publication number: 20230243938
    Abstract: An electro-optic distance meter according to the time-of-flight principle with a receiver chain for generating a digital signal from a received light pulse, the receiver chain comprising a photodetector, a first gain stage, in particular a transimpedance amplifier or a current-mode electronic, for converting an input current from the photodetector associated to the returned light pulse into an output voltage, a filter and an analog-to-digital converter, whereby the digital signal provides an unambiguous relationship between intensity-time delay of the optical pulse and signalshape-time delay of the electrical signal, wherefore the photodetector, the first gain stage and the analog-to-digital converter are adapted to each other such that the analog-to-digital converter remains unclipped in a linear operating range even when the first gain stage shows a non-linear time-invariant response or a well-defined time-invariant saturation response to the input current of the photodetector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2023
    Publication date: August 3, 2023
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Simon BESTLER, Marcel ROHNER
  • Publication number: 20230184547
    Abstract: A surveying device embodied as total positioning system or total station, wherein the surveying device comprises a laser distance measuring module configured to generate a distance measuring beam for a single point measurement to determine a distance to a measurement point targeted by the distance measuring beam. Furthermore, the surveying device comprises a range imaging module with a switchable target illuminator for providing different distance-dependent illumination states of an area illumination comprising a broad and a narrow illumination state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2022
    Publication date: June 15, 2023
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Jürg HINDERLING, Simon BESTLER, Andreas WALSER
  • Publication number: 20230003524
    Abstract: A target reflector search device. This device comprises an emitting unit for emitting an emission fan, a motorized device for moving the emission fan over a spatial region, and a receiving unit for reflected portions of the emission fan within a fan-shaped acquisition region, and a locating unit for determining a location of the reflection. An optoelectronic detector of the receiving unit is formed as a position-resolving optoelectronic detector having a linear arrangement of a plurality of pixels, each formed as an SPAD array, and the receiving unit comprises an optical system having an imaging fixed-focus optical unit, wherein the optical system and the optoelectronic detector are arranged and configured in such a way that portions of the optical radiation reflected from a point in the acquisition region are expanded on the sensitivity surface of the optoelectronic detector in such a way that blurry imaging takes place.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2022
    Publication date: January 5, 2023
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Andreas WALSER, Simon BESTLER
  • Patent number: 11428784
    Abstract: A measuring appliance for performing distance measurements to an object, with an optical transmitter channel, an optical reception channel, a reference light path and an evaluation device, wherein the optical transmitter channel comprises a transmitter unit and an optical outlet element and the optical reception channel comprises an optical inlet element and a reception unit. The measuring appliance facilitates distance measurements over a measurement light path to the object and back again and over a reference light path. An attenuation device renders a desired signal attenuation attainable in the reference light path. The reference light path is laid out in such a way that it receives laser measurement radiation prior to the passage through the optical outlet element, guides said laser radiation without contact with the surroundings to the attenuation device and forwards an attenuated portion to the reception unit through the optical inlet element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Jürg Hinderling, Simon Bestler, Reto Stutz, Rainer Wohlgenannt
  • Patent number: 11372088
    Abstract: An optical distance meter configured to carry out a distance measurement in a first measuring mode, in which the distance meter is set for distance measurement on a retroreflective target, and a second measuring mode, in which the distance meter is set for distance measurement on a diffusely scattering target. In this case, a first aperture of the receiving channel is set in the first measuring mode, which is smaller than an aperture set in the second measuring mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Simon Bestler, Rainer Wohlgenannt, Jürg Hinderling
  • Publication number: 20220171038
    Abstract: The invention relates to a multi-beam distance measuring device, configured for timing the time-of-flight of transmission pulses by using a programmable integrated circuit, which has a plurality of parallel delay lines. Each delay line has a plurality of delay elements, which sequentially propagate an input signal of the respective delay line, wherein each of the delay elements is configured to provide a binary output as a function of the input signal. Time measurement of a signal change of a return signal is carried out by sampling binary outputs of a respective delay line and simultaneous consideration of the sampled binary outputs at a certain point in time, by further taking into account individual time delays of the delay elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Publication date: June 2, 2022
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Rainer WOHLGENANNT, Roman KOLLER, Simon BESTLER, Marcel ROHNER
  • Patent number: 11022680
    Abstract: A distance measuring device comprising a sensor for highly accurate distance measurement with a very high dynamic range and range walk compensation, said sensor being provided by means of an array of single photon avalanche photodiodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Jürg Hinderling, Simon Bestler, Thomas Piok, Andreas Walser, Rainer Wohlgenannt
  • Publication number: 20210141064
    Abstract: A measuring device comprises a base, a case, and a rotating member rotatable about the axis of rotation. The rotating member comprises a transmission unit configured to emit transmission beams to different beam directions. The rotating member further comprises a receiver unit configured to receive returning transmission beams. A longitudinal member is fixed to the base and extends in a central area of the rotating member along the axis of rotation over a range including the transmission unit and the receiver unit. Two bearing members are arranged on the longitudinal member and on the rotating member. In the direction of the axis of rotation, the transmission unit and the receiver unit are located in a range between the two bearing members. The measuring device has a high aiming accuracy and low hysteresis of the turning transmission beams.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2020
    Publication date: May 13, 2021
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Rainer WOHLGENANNT, Jürg HINDERLING, Simon BESTLER
  • Publication number: 20210124049
    Abstract: An absolute distance measuring method and device including a transmission unit having a laser array comprising multiple measurement laser emitters arranged along a laser array axis and a receiver unit having at least one receiver array comprising multiple measurement receivers arranged along a receiver array axis for measuring of an absolute distance based on a respective detected transmission beam and the principle of time-of-flight. The laser array comprises at least a first reference laser emitter and the receiver array comprises at least a first reference receiver. The reference laser emitter and reference receiver define an internal absolute distance reference beam path for calibration of the device with respect to said measuring of absolute distance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Publication date: April 29, 2021
    Applicant: HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH
    Inventors: Rainer WOHLGENANNT, Martin DE LANGE, Benjamin SEIFERT, Simon BESTLER, Jürg HINDERLING