Patent ID: 6600511
Filing Date: 2003-07-29
Classification: G01C

Abstract:
A camera for photogrammetric analytical measurement, with photography consecutively performed at different photographing positions, comprising:a relative-position-detecting system associated with a three-dimensional coordinate system defined in the camera, the relative-position-detecting system detecting a relative-positional relationship in three dimensions of two consecutive different photographing positions; and a memory medium that stores image data of a photograph from the camera at the latter of the two consecutive different photographing positions and photographing-positional information derived from the relative-positional relationship detected by said relative-position-detecting system, the photographing-positional information representing the latter of said two consecutive different photographing positions, wherein said relative-position-detecting system includes: three respective rotational-angle sensors that detect rotational-angular movement data around first, second and third axes of said three-dimensional coordinate system; three respective acceleration sensors that detect acceleration data along the first, second and third axes of said three-dimensional coordinate system; a sensor control system that controls said rotational-angle sensors and said acceleration sensors such that the rotational-angular movement data and the acceleration data are successively retrieved therefrom at a first regular interval of time after the camera is powered ON; a first calculator that successively calculates relative-three-dimensional angular data of the camera based on said rotational-angular movement data retrieved from said rotational-angle sensors at a second regular interval of time which is longer than said first regular interval of time, an orientation of the camera at a time when the camera is powered ON being defined as initial three-dimensional angular data; a second calculator that successively calculates relative-three-dimensional translational movement data of the camera, based on said acceleration data retrieved from said acceleration sensors at said second regular interval of time; a third calculator that calculates relative-three-dimensional positional data based on said relative-three-dimensional translational movement data calculated by said second calculator, a position of the camera at a time when the camera is powered ON being defined as initial three-dimensional positional data; a fourth calculator that calculates differential-angular data with respect to the relative-three-dimensional angular data derived from said two consecutive different photographing positions when a photographing operation is performed at the latter of said two consecutive different photographing positions, said fourth calculator calculating differential-angular data between said initial three-dimensional angular data and the relative-three-dimensional angular data derived from the photographing position at which a first photographing operation is performed; and a fifth calculator that calculates differential-positional data with respect to the relative-three-dimensional positional data derived from said two consecutive different photographing positions when the photographing operation is performed at the latter of said two consecutive different photographing positions, said fifth calculator calculating differential-positional data between said initial three-dimensional positional data and the relative-three-dimensional positional data derived from the photographing position at which the first photographing operation is performed, both the differential-angular data and the differential-positional data, calculated by said fourth and fifth calculators, being stored in said memory medium as the photographing-positional information representing the latter of said two consecutive different photographing positions.