Patent ID: 6822732
Filing Date: 2004-11-23
Classification: G01C

Abstract:
A surveying instrument comprising:a surveying instrument body which is rotatable about each of a vertical axis and a horizontal axis, said surveying instrument body including a telescope optical system for collimating said surveying instrument relative to a survey point; a collimator optical system, provided in said surveying instrument body, for projecting first light rays toward said survey point through said telescope optical system and for receiving said first light rays reflected at said survey point; an auto-collimating system which rotates said surveying instrument body about each of said vertical axis and said horizontal axis to position said survey point on an optical axis of said telescope optical system in accordance with information on a location of said survey point; a distance measuring optical system, provided in said surveying instrument body, for projecting second light rays toward said survey point through said telescope optical system and for receiving said second light rays reflected at said survey point; and a distance measuring device for calculating a distance from said surveying instrument to said survey point in accordance with information on said second light rays which are projected toward said survey point by said distance measuring optical system and reflected at said survey point, wherein an optical axis of said collimator optical system on which said first light rays travel toward said survey point and an optical axis of said distance measuring optical system on which said second light rays travel toward said survey point are offset from each other in said telescope optical system.