Patent ID: 8269984

Claim:
A distance-measuring method for a device projecting a reference line, including an electro-optical rangefinder, the method comprising the steps: emitting and guiding an optical reference beam along a defined reference path, at least a part of the reference path being detectable as a reference line in its passage by the human eye or detectors; measuring distance to at least one point of the reference path by: emitting a measuring beam: parallel to, or coaxial with, the reference beam; and guiding the measuring beam along the reference path, or use of the reference beam as a measuring beam; receiving parts of the measuring beam reflected from the at least one point and deriving at least one signal from these parts; and determining the distance to the at least one point from the at least one signal, wherein: the guidance of the measuring and reference beam, or of the reference beam used as a measuring beam along the reference path, is automatically repeated at least once; and on each passage through the reference path, in each case a distance-related variable in the form of a transit time, or of a phase of the measuring beam, is determined for the at least one point.