Patent ID: 7456936

Claim:
An electro-optical hand-held distance measuring instrument comprising: a housing ( 2 ) that can be held in the hand, an electro-optical distance measurement module ( 3 ) with an electric beam source ( 5 ) for generating an optical measurement beam (S), a beam receiver ( 8 ) for receiving portions of the measurement beam (S) that are backscattered by an object to be measured (MO), and an output device ( 7 ) for the determined distance (X), and a mechanical distance measuring device ( 9 , 11 ) usable for a steady measurement of distances, wherein the mechanical distance measuring device ( 9 , 11 ) is connected to the housing ( 2 ) and includes an optically readable measurement scale ( 20 ), wherein the electro-optical distance measurement module ( 3 ) has a control device ( 13 ) constructed as at least one contactless sensor that is connected with the mechanical distance measuring device ( 9 , 11 ) and that is connected to the electro-optical distance measurement module ( 3 ) in a controllable manner; and wherein the at least one contactless sensor senses the position of the mechanical distance measuring device ( 9 , 11 ) relative to the housing ( 2 ) and that is sensitive to one of a permanent magnet and a transparent hole ( 14 ) arranged in the mechanical distance measuring device ( 9 , 11 ).