Laser scanner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12265156-B2
Application number	US-202318201664-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 24, 2023
Priority date	Nov 10, 2016
Publication date	Apr 1, 2025
Grant date	Apr 1, 2025

Abstract

A laser scanner and a system with a laser scanner for measuring an environment. The laser scanner includes an optical distance measuring device, a support, a beam steering unit rotatably fixed to the support which rotates around a beam axis of rotation. The beam steering unit includes a mirrored surface which deflects radiation used in the optical distance measurement and an angle encoder for recording angle data. The optical distance measurement is performed by a progressive rotation of the beam steering unit about the beam axis of rotation and the continuous emission of a distance measurement radiation, the emission being made through an outlet area arranged in the direction of the mirrored surface on the support, the receiving optics for receiving radiation are arranged on the support, and wherein the outlet area has a lateral offset with respect to the optical axis of the receiving optics.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A laser scanner for optical measurement of an environment, comprising
an optical distance measuring device for detecting distance measurement data, having
a transmitter unit for emitting a distance measurement radiation and
a receiver unit for receiving returning parts of the distance measurement radiation,

a base,
a support, which is fixed on the base such that it can rotate about a support axis of rotation, in particular a slow axis of rotation,
a beam steering unit for the distance measurement radiation, which is fixed to the support such that it can rotate about a beam axis of rotation substantially orthogonal to the axis of rotation of the support, in particular a fast axis of rotation,
a first angle encoder for recording first angle data with respect to a rotation of the support about the support axis of rotation, and
a second angle encoder for recording second angle data with respect to a rotation of the beam steering unit about the beam axis of rotation,

wherein the distance measurement data and the first and second angle data, hereafter designated as measurement data, are detected during a measurement process which comprises
a scanning sampling by means of the distance measuring device with
a defined continuous rotation of the support about the support axis of rotation,
a defined continuous rotation of the beam steering unit about the beam axis of rotation, and
a continuous emission of the distance measurement radiation and a continuous reception of returning parts of the distance measurement radiation, wherein

the base comprises a only one overall effective stabilization region axially along the support axis of rotation, which is used to stabilize the support against a tilting of the support relative to the base,
the stabilization region has a first extension axially along the support axis of rotation and a second extension perpendicular to the support axis of rotation and substantially radially symmetric with respect to the support axis of rotation, and
the second extension is larger than the first extension.

2. The laser scanner as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the second extension is greater than the first extension by at least a factor of two, in particular wherein the second extension is greater than the first extension by at least a factor of five.

3. The laser scanner as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the support is mounted by means of a single bearing rim such that it can pivot relative to the base about the support axis of rotation, wherein the stabilization is achieved exclusively by the single bearing rim.

4. The laser scanner as claimed in claim 3 , wherein
the bearing rim is designed as a single-row four-point roller bearing, or
the bearing rim is designed as a single-row sliding bearing with an outer and inner ring and the outer ring forms two contact bearings with the inner ring, in particular two bearing lines or two bearing surfaces, axially spaced apart with respect to the support axis of rotation.

5. The laser scanner as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the stabilization is generated by means of a spring loading acting on the bearing rim radially with respect to the support axis of rotation.

6. The laser scanner as claimed in claim 3 , wherein along a boundary region substantially parallel to a contact bearing a lubricant-repellent emulsion is applied, so that dispersion of a lubricant for the bearing rim due to the surface tension of the lubricant-repellent emulsion is substantially limited by the boundary region.

7. The laser scanner as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the bearing rim is designed as a four-point roller bearing in the form of a dry-running ring bearing with ceramic roller elements.

8. The laser scanner as claimed in claim 1 , wherein during the measurement process the beam steering unit rotates about the beam axis of rotation with a rotation speed of at least 50 Hz, in particular of at least 100 Hz, and/or
during the measurement process the base rotates about the support axis of rotation with a rotation speed of at least 0.01 Hz, in particular of at least 0.02 Hz.

9. The laser scanner as claimed in claim 1 , wherein with respect to a rotation of the support about the support axis of rotation the base is designed exclusively as passive element, in the sense that all active electronics required for the motorization of the rotation around the support axis of rotation is arranged exclusively in the support and co-rotates with the support around the axis of rotation of the support.

Assignees

• Leica Geosystems Ag

Inventors

• Mark Simon
• Bereuter Klaus
• Müller Benjamin
• Steffen Roman
• Böckem Burkhard
• Dold Jürgen
• Scheja Jochen
• Heinzle Lukas
• Dumoulin Charles Leopold Elisabeth

Classifications

• G01S7/4814

  of transmitters alone · CPC title

• G01S7/4811

  common to transmitter and receiver · CPC title

• G01B11/024

  by means of diode-array scanning · CPC title

• G06T2207/10028

  Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds · CPC title

• G06T11/00

  Two-dimensional [2D] image generation · CPC title