Patent Application
20250155231
The present disclosure relates to the field of measurement, and in particular, to a tape measure, a measuring device, and a measuring method.
With the development of science and technology, length measuring tools have been widely used in work and life, and increasingly high requirements have been posed on the accuracy of measurement. A traditional tape measure may realize ranging by identifying printed graduations on a tape with naked eyes. Due to different eyesight and reading habits of different people, the accuracy of measurement is low and the consistency of data is poor. A tape measure in the prior art is provided with a sensor to read an identification code printed on a tape, thus realizing length reading. Since the identification code needs to be printed, the accuracy of the printing technique is low, which will result in low accuracy of measurement.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a novel tape measure, a measuring device, and a measuring method, so as to improve the accuracy of measurement.
The content in the background section is merely information known to the inventors, and neither represents that the above information has been found in the public field prior to the filing date of the present disclosure nor represents that it can become the prior art of the present disclosure.
The present disclosure provides a tape measure, a measuring device, and a measuring method that can improve the accuracy of measurement.
In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a tape measure, including: a first shell having a first outlet; a tape including one end mounted in the first shell and another end extending out of the first shell through the first outlet and configuted to move in a first measuring direction relative to the first shell; and an optical positioning assembly connected to the first shell and including: an imaging sensor mounted in the first shell opposite to a surface of the tape, and configured to, when working, consecutively acquire images of the tape in a moving process and perform feature comparison on the images to determine a relative displacement of the tape moving in the first measuring direction in real time, and a first controller in communication with the imaging sensor and configured to, when working, receive the relative displacement and determine in real time, based on the relative displacement, a length by which the tape extends out of the first shell.
In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a measuring device including: a tape measure, including: a first shell having a first outlet, a tape including one end mounted in the first shell and another end extending out of the first shell through the first outlet and configured to move in a first measuring direction relative to the first shell, and an optical positioning assembly connected to the first shell and including: an imaging sensor mounted in the first shell opposite to a surface of the tape, and configured to, when working, consecutively acquire images of the tape in a moving process and perform feature comparison on the images to determine a relative displacement of the tape moving in the first measuring direction in real time, and a first controller in communication with the imaging sensor and configured to, when working, receive the relative displacement and determine in real time, based on the relative displacement, a length by which the tape extends out of the first shell; and a laser ranging device connected to the tape measure, including a second shell provided with a second outlet, and a laser measuring portion disposed in the second shell and configured to, when working, measure a distance in a second measuring direction via the second outlet. a distance in a second measuring direction through the second outlet.
In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a measuring method for a tape measure provided in the first aspect and including: consecutively acquiring, by the imaging sensor, the images of the tape in the moving process, and performing feature comparison on the images to determine a relative displacement of the tape moving in the first measuring direction in real time; and receiving, by the first controller, the relative displacement, and determining in real time, based on the relative displacement, a length by which the tape extends out of the first shell.
To sum up, the tape measure, the measuring device, and the measuring method provided in the present disclosure can consecutively acquire, by the imaging sensor, the images of the tape in the moving process, and perform feature comparison on the consecutively acquired images to determine a relative displacement of the tape moving in the first measuring direction in real time, and then calculate, by the first controller, a length by which the tape extends out of the first shell, thus achieving the purpose of ranging. The imaging sensor in the tape measure provided in the present disclosure can contrast a same feature in adjacent images to determine a relative displacement corresponding to the adjacent images, and then the controller can calculate a moving distance of the tape in real time without reading the printed marks on the tape. Thus, the accuracy of measurement is improved.
Other functions of the tape measure, the measuring device, and the measuring method provided in the present disclosure will be enumerated in part in the following description. According to the description, the contents presented by reference numerals and examples will be apparent for those of ordinary skill in the art. Creative aspects of the tape measure, the measuring device, and the measuring method provided in the present disclosure provided in the present disclosure may be fully explained by practice or by using the methods, devices, and combinations described in the following detailed examples.
To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.
The following description provides specific application scenarios and requirements of the present disclosure, with the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to make and use the content in the present disclosure. For those skilled in the art, various partial modifications to the disclosed embodiments are obvious, and without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, the general principles defined herein can be applied to other embodiments and application. Therefore, the specification is not limited to the embodiments, but is the consistent with the widest scope of claims.
The terms used herein are merely intended to describe specific examples or embodiments, rather than to limit the present disclosure. For example, unless expressly stated otherwise, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “this” used herein may also include plural forms. In the present disclosure, the terms “include” and/or “comprise” refer to the existence of an associated integer, step, operation, element, component and/or group, without excluding the existence of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups. In other words, other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups may be added to the system/method.
It should be understood that in the description of the present disclosure, orientations or positional relationships indicated by terms such as “above”, “below”, “left”, “right”, “front”, “rear”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, “outside”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “transverse”, “longitudinal” are all based on what are illustrated in the drawings. These terms are mainly intended to better describe the present disclosure and embodiments thereof, rather than to define that the devices or components indicated must have the specific orientation or be constructed and operated in the specific orientation.
Besides, some of the terms mentioned above may be used to indicate other meanings in addition to indicating the orientation or positional relations. For example, the term “upper” may also be used to indicate an attachment relationship or a connection relationship in some cases. Those of ordinary skill in the art may understand specific meanings of these terms in the present disclosure based on a specific situation.
In addition, the meanings of the terms “mount”, “dispose”, and “connect” should be understood in a board sense. For example, “connection” may be a fixed connection, a removable connection, or integration; may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; may be a direct connection or an indirect connection implemented by using an intermediate medium; or may be intercommunication between two components, elements or components. Those of ordinary skill in the art may understand specific meanings of the foregoing terms in the present disclosure based on a specific situation.
In the present disclosure, “X includes at least one of A, B, or C” means X includes at least A, X includes at least B, or X includes at least C. In other words, X may include any combination of A, B, and C, or include any combination of A, B, and C and other possible content/element. The any combination of A, B, and C may be A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC.
In the present disclosure, unless otherwise explicitly specified, an association relationship between structures may be a direct association relationship or an indirect association relationship. For example, for the description “A is connected to B”, unless it is explicitly described that A is directly connected to B, it will be construed as that A may be directly connected to B or indirectly connected to B. For another example, for the description “A is over B”, unless it is explicitly described that A is directly above B (A and B are adjacent and A is above B), it will be construed as that A may be directly above B, or A may be indirectly over B (A and B are spaced apart by other element and A is above B), and so on.
In consideration of the following description, in the present disclosure, these and other features, the operations and functions of related elements of the structure, as well as the economic efficiency of the combination and manufacturing of components can be significantly improved. With reference to the drawings, all of these form part of the present disclosure. However, it should be clearly understood that the drawings are merely intended for illustration and description purposes, rather than to limit the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale.
The tape 120 may be mounted in the first shell 110 and can be pulled out or retract relative to the first shell 110 to move in a target direction relative to the first shell 110, thereby measuring a length. The direction indicated by the arrow in
With reference to
The tape 120 may be a portion of the tape measure 100 that is configured to measure a length. One end of the tape 120 may be mounted in the first shell 110, e.g., in the accommodating cavity 112. The other end of the tape 120 may extend out of the first shell 110 through the first outlet 114 and can move in the target direction D relative to the first shell 110. In some embodiments, a limiting lug 122 is provided at an end of the tape 120 that passes through the first outlet 114. When the tape 120 retracts into the first shell 110, the limiting lug 122 presses against the first outlet 114 of the first shell 110 to prevent the tape 120 from completely going into the first shell 110. In some embodiments, an accessory structure connected to the tape 120 and moving along with the tape 120 may also be regarded as a portion of the tape 120.
In some embodiments, the tape measure 100 may further include the tape retracting assembly 160. The tape retracting assembly 160 may be rotationally mounted in the accommodating cavity 112. The tape retracting assembly 160 is capable of rotating relative to the first shell 110. The end, mounted in the first shell 110, of the tape 120 may be connected to the tape retracting assembly 160 and wound around the tape retracting assembly 160. When the tape 120 is pulled out of the first shell 110, the tape retracting assembly 160 rotates forward to release the tape 120 wound around the tape retracting assembly 160, so that the tape 120 can be pulled out. When the tape 120 retracts into the first shell 110, the tape retracting assembly 160 rotates reversely to wind the tape 120 around the tape retracting assembly 160, so that the tape 120 is retracted.
In some embodiments, the tape measure 100 may further include the guiding assembly 170. The guiding assembly 170 may be mounted in the accommodating cavity 112. The guiding assembly 170 may include a guiding slot extending in the target direction D. The end, extending out of the first shell 110, of the tape 120 may extend out of the first outlet 114 of the first shell 110 after passing through the guiding slot such that a moving direction when the tape 120 is pulled out or retracts into the first shell 110 is the target direction D.
The optical positioning assembly 130 is mechanically connected to the first shell 110. The optical positioning assembly 130 may be mounted in the accommodating cavity 112. The optical positioning assembly 130 may be configured to read a length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110. The optical positioning assembly 130 may include an imaging sensor 132. The imaging sensor 132 may be mounted in the first shell 110, e.g., in the accommodating cavity 112. The imaging sensor 132 may be disposed opposite to a surface of the tape 120. During working, images of the tape 120 in the moving process are acquired consecutively, and feature comparison is performed on the images to determine the relative displacement of the tape 120 moving in the target direction D in real time. In some embodiments, a mounting position of the imaging sensor 132 may be a position disposed relative to linear movement of the tape 120 in the target direction D. That is, the movement of the tape 120 within an image acquisition range of the imaging sensor 132 is linear movement in the target direction D. In this case, images of the tape 120 acquired by the imaging sensor 132 are images of the tape 120 in the process of moving in the target direction D. Therefore, the imaging sensor 132 determines different pixel positions corresponding to a same feature of the tape 120 in captured adjacent images by performing feature comparison on the adjacent images, thus determining a relative displacement of the tape 120 when moving in the target direction D in real time, in order to guarantee the accuracy of relative displacement calculation. For example, the imaging sensor 132 may be mounted at any position between the first outlet 114 and the guiding assembly 170. For example, the imaging sensor 132 may be mounted at the outlet 114. For example, the imaging sensor 132 may be mounted at the guiding assembly 170. In some other embodiments, the mounting position of the imaging sensor 132 may be a position disposed relative to nonlinear movement of the tape 120. For example, the imaging sensor 132 is disposed opposite to the wound portion of the tape 120 in
In some embodiments, the tape measure 100 may further include a first spacing piece. The first spacing piece may be disposed in the accommodating cavity 112. The first spacing piece is configured to adjust a distance between the imaging sensor 132 and the tape 120. When the imaging sensor 132 works, the first spacing piece may maintain the distance between the imaging sensor 132 and the tape 120 in a first working range. In the event that the distance between the imaging sensor 132 and the tape 120 is in the first working range, the imaging sensor 132 is capable of working normally.
The optical positioning assembly 130 may further include a position identification sensor 134. The position identification sensor 134 may be mounted in the first shell 110, e.g., in the accommodating cavity 112. The position identification sensor 134 may be disposed opposite to a surface of the tape 120 to read, when working, a position identifier (as will be described below in detail with respect to
In some embodiments, the tape measure 100 may further include a second spacing piece. The second spacing piece may be mounted in the accommodating cavity 112. The second spacing piece is configured to adjust a distance between the position identification sensor 134 and the tape 120. When the position identification sensor 134 works, the second spacing piece may maintain the distance between the position identification sensor 134 and the tape 120 in a second working range. In the event that the distance between the position identification sensor 134 and the tape 120 is in the second working range, the position identification sensor 134 is capable of working normally.
It will be understood that the position identification sensor 134 and the imaging sensor 132 are disposed on the same side of the tape 120, and when a required spacing between the position identification sensor 134 and the tape 120 is identical or close to a required spacing between the imaging sensor 132 and the tape 120, the position identification sensor 134 and the imaging sensor 132 may share one spacing piece to save the space in the first shell 110.
With reference to
The imaging component 132-1 may be an image acquisition device to acquire the images of the tape 120 in the moving process during working. The imaging component 132-1 is capable of capturing images at a preset frequency to consecutively acquire the images of the tape 120 in the moving process. The preset frequency may allow the images acquired by the imaging sensor 132 at adjacent time points to be superposed at least in part so that the imaging sensor 132 calculates a relative displacement of the tape 120 moving between the adjacent images according to the superposed portion in the adjacent images. For example, no matter whether the tape 120 is pulled out at a high speed or a low speed, a feature which is superposed at least in part exists in the adjacent images acquired by the imaging component 132-1 and the imaging sensor 132 may calculate the relative displacement of the tape 120. In some embodiments, the preset frequency at which the imaging component 132-1 acquires images may be determined based on a speed range at which the tape 120 is pulled out or retracts. The speed range at which the tape 120 is pulled out or retracts may be obtained in a plurality of ways, such as an empirical way, a statistical way, an experimental way, and a machine learning way, or any composition thereof. In some embodiments, the preset frequency may be a fixed value. For example, a preset image capturing frequency is not lower than 2000 frames per second (FPS). In some embodiments, the preset frequency may vary in a certain value range. For example, the preset frequency may be adjusted adaptively in the value range according to the roughness of images captured. For example, the value range is [1000 FPS, 5000 FPS], and when a moving speed of the tape 120 is small, the value of the preset frequency is close to the capturing frequency of 1000 FPS. When the moving speed of the tape 120 is large, the value of the preset frequency is close to the capturing frequency of 5000 FPS. That is to say, the value of the preset frequency is in the value range and is positively related the moving speed of the tape 120, and by adaptively adjusting the capturing frequency, the efficiency of measurement may be improved on the premise of guaranteeing the accuracy of measurement. Thus, the imaging component 132-1 is capable of performing capturing at the capturing frequency to consecutively acquire the images of the tape 120 in the moving process. The imaging component 132-1 may be any form of device capable of image acquisition, e.g., may be a micro Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) camera. The imaging component 132-1 may also be other device for fast photographing in the art, which will not be limited herein.
The image processing circuit 132-3 may be in communication with the imaging component 132-1 to receive the images acquired by the imaging component 132-1. Further, the image processing circuit 132-3 may perform feature comparison on the received images to determine the relative displacement of the tape 120 moving in the target direction D in real time. The first controller 150 and/or the image processing circuit 132-3 may control the capturing frequency of the imaging component 132-1 and control starting of image acquisition and stopping of image acquisition.
With reference to
With reference to
The imaging component 132-1 may directly face the first side 127 of the tape 120. In this case, the imaging component 132-1 has a higher uniformity of field of view such that the imaging sensor 132 occupies a small volume in the shell of the tape measure 100. The imaging component 132-1 may obliquely face the first side 127 of the tape 120, e.g., an imaging component 132-1′ and a receiving lens 132-5′. In this case, the imaging component 132-1′ is in a direction where reflected light is strongest and has high surface adaptability. Compared with the capturing area (with a diameter of d1) of the imaging component 132-1 that directly faces the first side 127, the capturing area (with a diameter of d2) of the imaging component 132-1′ that obliquely faces the first side 127 is larger, thus being conducive to improving the efficiency of measurement. It will be understood that the imaging sensor 132 may be set according to actual requirements in practical use, which will not be limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.
It needs to be noted that the relative displacement is a vector. Assuming that the target direction D in which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 is positive and a direction in which the tape 120 retracts into the first shell 110 is negative, the relative displacement is a positive value in the event that the image 520 corresponding to the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 relative to the image 510. The relative displacement is a negative value in the event that the image 520 corresponds to the tape 120 retracting into the first shell 110 relative to the image 510. It will be understood that since the imaging component 132-1 captures images at a high frequency, the image processing circuit 132-3 determines the relative displacement also at a high displacement, thus guaranteeing the instantaneity of determining the relative displacement.
Each time after the image processing circuit 132-3 determines the relative displacement of the current image relative to the previous image, the relative displacement is transmitted to the first controller 150 such that the first controller 150 determines a length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 in the target direction D in real time based on the received relative displacement.
A state in which the limiting lug 122 of the tape 120 presses against the first outlet 114 of the first shell 110 may be designated as an initial state of the tape measure 100, and the tape 120 being pulled out (i.e., a state in which the limiting lug 122 of the tape does not press against the first outlet 114) may be designated as a working state of the tape measure 100. In response to the tape measure 100 changing from the initial state to the working state, the first controller 150 controls the imaging sensor 132 to start working.
The image processing circuit 132-3 may be connected to the first controller 150 through a serial port. Thus, the image processing circuit 132-3 transmits the relative displacement calculated in the above embodiment to the first controller 150 such that the first controller 150 determines a length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 in the target direction D in real time. In some embodiments, the image processing circuit 132-3 may determine a relative displacement corresponding to each image and then successively transmits it to the first controller 150 to guarantee that the first controller 150 determines an extension length of the tape 120 in real time and outputs a measurement reading in real time. In some embodiments, to reduce the number of times of information interaction, after contiguously determining relative displacements corresponding to N (an integer greater than 1) images, the image processing circuit 132-3 may also transmit the relative displacement corresponding to the Nth image to the first controller 150. In other words, the relative displacement is reported to the first controller 150 at intervals of N-1 images. For example, after contiguously determining the relative displacements corresponding to 5 images, the image processing circuit 132-3 transmits the relative displacement corresponding to the fifth image to the first controller 150, rather than transmits all the relative displacements respectively corresponding to the first to fifth images to the first controller 150 successively. Herein, due to a high capturing frequency of the imaging component 132-1, it can also be effectively ensured in this embodiment that the first controller 150 can guarantee the instantaneity of determining the extension length of the tape 120 and can also reduce the number of times of information interaction, thereby reducing the power consumption of the tape measure 100.
After receiving the relative displacement corresponding to the current image, the first controller 150 adds the relative displacement corresponding to the current image with a relative length corresponding to the previous image to obtain a relative length corresponding to the current image. The relative length corresponding to the current image is a displacement of the tape 120 relative to the first outlet 114 in the target direction D that is calculated by the first controller 150, starting from the first controller 150 controlling the imaging sensor 132 to start working to a time point when the current image is acquired. For example, in the event that the image 520 corresponds to the tape 120 extending out of the first shell 110 relative to the image 510, if the relative displacement corresponding to the image 520 is positive value 0.110 and the relative length corresponding to the image 510 is 50 cm, the relative length corresponding to the image 520 is 50.110 cm. In the event that the image 520 corresponds to the tape 120 retracting into the first shell 110 relative to the image 510, if the relative displacement corresponding to the image 520 is negative value −0.101 and the relative length corresponding to the image 510 is 50 cm, the relative length corresponding to the image 520 is 48.999 cm.
In some embodiments, the limiting lug 122 has a thickness. The thickness of the limiting lug may affect the accuracy of measurement. Here, the thickness of the limiting lug 122 is denoted as an “initial length”. During measurement, the relative length determined by the first controller 150 is added with the thickness of the limiting lug 122 (i.e., the initial length) to obtain measurement data with an accurately tested value.
In some other embodiments, the tape measure 100 may have a manufacturing error. One case is that after the tape 120 moves a distance (denoted as an initial length), the first controller 150 controls the imaging sensor 132 to start measuring. That is, the limiting lug 122 of the tape 120 arrives at a measurement starting point after moving the initial length. In this case, the initial length is a negative value. Therefore, a length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 can be determined accurately only after the relative length determined by the first controller 150 is added with the negative value. Another case is that the tape 120 does not move and already has a certain extension length (denoted as an initial length). In this case, the initial length is a positive value, a length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 can be determined accurately only after the relative length determined by the first controller 150 is added with the positive value. For the manufacturing error of the tape measure 100, after calculating the relative length corresponding to the current image based on the relative displacement transmitted by the imaging sensor 132, the first controller 150 adds the pre-stored initial length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 with the relative length in real time to obtain the length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 in real time.
To further improve the accuracy of measurement, some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a tape measure 100 with a correction function. With reference to the tape 120 shown in
All the position identifiers 126 are provided on a same side of the tape 120, e.g., on the first side 127 or the second side 128. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the position identifiers 126 may be on a same side of the tape with the graduations 124 for reading by naked eyes, as shown in
Specifically, the position identifiers 126 at different positions may be different. Each position identifier 126 is in one-to-one correspondence with an actual extension length of the tape 120, and the one-to-one correspondence is pre-stored in a storage unit of the tape measure 100.
In some embodiments, M (a value of M is a positive integer) position identifiers 126 divide the tape 120 into M+1 segments, and a distance of each segment may be identical. For example, L1, L2 . . . are each 5 cm in
The position identification sensor 134 is disposed opposite to a side, on which the position identifiers 126 are provided, of the tape 120. For example, in the event that the tape 120 is as shown in
The position identification sensor 134 may be in communication with the first controller 150. Thus, the position identification sensor 134 can transmit an absolute position signal generated in case that a position identifier 126 is identified to the first controller 150. Further, in case of receiving no absolute position signal, the first controller 150 accumulates the received relative displacements to determine the relative length. After receiving the absolute position signal, the first controller 150 resets the relative length calculated by accumulation to zero. Specifically, it is assumed that the relative length DL-1 corresponding to accumulated 10000 images has been determined prior to receiving the absolute position signal. In response to receiving the absolute position signal, the first controller 150 resets the determined relative length DL-1 to zero. The first controller 150 will redetermine a relative length based on relative displacements received after resetting to zero. The redetermined relative length may be actually understood as a displacement at a preset position corresponding to the currently identified target position identifier 126 relative to the tape 120. If the preset position corresponding to the currently identified target position identifier 126 is 15 cm (i.e., the absolute length by which the tape extends out is 15 cm), that “the first controller 150 will redetermine a relative length based on relative displacements received after resetting to zero” in the present disclosure means that the first controller 150 will use “15 cm” as a starting point for calculating the relative length.
In the above embodiment, after receiving the absolute position signal, the first controller 150 further determines the position of the target position identifier 126 corresponding to the absolute position signal on the tape 120. Specifically, the first controller 150 may determine, based on the absolute position signal, the currently read position identifier 126 as the target position identifier 126 of which the data bit is binary “011”. The first controller 150 may determine, according to the pre-stored one-to-one correspondence between each position identifier 126 and an actual extension length of the tape 120, the absolute length by which the tape currently extends out as 15 cm stored in association with the target position identifier 126. Further, the first controller 150 will redetermine a relative length based on relative displacements received after resetting to zero, where the relative length is added with the absolute length such as 15 cm to obtain the relative length corresponding to the current image. Further, the first controller 150 adds the relative length with the initial length, thereby determining the length by which the tape 120 extends out of the shell in the target direction D in real time.
In some other embodiments, the imaging sensor 132 may not only determine a relative displacement between two adjacent images, but also accumulate the determined relative displacements. For example, in the event that the image 520 corresponds to the tape 120 extending out of the first shell 110 relative to the image 510, if the relative displacement between the two images is positive value 0.110 and the relative displacement corresponding to the image 510 is 50 cm, the relative displacement corresponding to the image 520 is 50.110 cm. Therefore, the first controller 150 may determine the received relative displacement corresponding to an image as a relative length corresponding to the image and further add the relative length with the initial length to determine an extension length of the tape 120 in the target direction D at a time point when the image is acquired. In the present embodiment, the imaging sensor 132 may reset the accumulated relative displacement to zero upon receiving the absolute position signal. The measurement solution provided in the present embodiment may improve the accuracy of measurement. Specifically, the position identification sensor 134 is in communication with the first controller 150. Thus, the position identification sensor 134 can transmit an absolute position signal generated in case that a position identifier 126 is identified to the first controller 150. Further, after receiving the absolute position signal, the first controller 150 needs to inform the imaging sensor 132 that the accumulated relative displacement is reset to zero on the one hand. Specifically, the first controller 150 generates a resetting signal in response to receiving the absolute position signal, and transmits the resetting signal to the imaging sensor 132. In response to receiving the resetting signal, the imaging sensor 132 clears the determined relative displacement. After receiving the resetting signal, the imaging sensor 132 restarts to capture images at the preset frequency, and redetermines and accumulates relative displacements based on images captured after resetting to zero. The relative displacement may be actually understood as a displacement at a preset position corresponding to the currently identified target position identifier 126 relative to the tape on. If the preset position corresponding to the currently identified target position identifier 126 Displacement 15 cm (i.e., the absolute length by which the tape extends out is 15 cm), “redetermining relative displacements based on images captured after resetting to zero” in the present disclosure means determining displacements relative to “15 cm”. In addition, for the specific implementation of the imaging sensor 132 redetermining relative displacements based on images captured after resetting to zero, see the embodiment described above, which will not be described here redundantly.
In the above embodiment, after receiving the absolute position signal, the first controller 150 determines the position of the target position identifier 126 corresponding to the absolute position signal on the tape 120 on the other hand. Specifically, the first controller 150 may determine, based on the absolute position signal, the currently read position identifier 126 as the target position identifier 126 of which the data bit is binary “011”. The first controller 150 may determine, according to the pre-stored one-to-one correspondence between each position identifier 126 and an actual extension length of the tape 120, the absolute length by which the tape 120 currently extends out as the length stored in association with the target position identifier 126. Further, the first controller 150 receives the relative displacement which is redetermined and accumulated by the imaging sensor 132 based on the images captured after resetting to zero, and determines a relative length based on this, and then adds the determined relative length with the absolute length to obtain the relative length corresponding to the current image. Further, the first controller 150 adds the relative length to the initial length, thereby determining the length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 in the target direction D in real time.
In some embodiments, the imaging sensor 132 may be configured to identify the position identifiers 126 in addition to determine the relative displacements. Therefore, the imaging sensor 132 needs to be disposed opposite to the side of the tape 120 that has the position identifiers 126. Specifically, the first controller 150 determines an absolute length of the tape 120 based on an identification result of a position identifier 126 by the imaging sensor 132, and the imaging sensor 132 resets the determined relative displacement to zero after identifying the position identifier 126 and redetermines a relative displacement. Finally, the first controller 150 determines the length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 in the target direction D in real time based on the redetermined relative displacement and the absolute length corresponding to the identified position identifier 126.
In S710, the imaging sensor 132, during working, consecutively acquires images of the tape 120 in the moving process, and performs feature comparison on the images to determine a relative displacement of the tape 120 moving in the target direction D in real time.
In response to the tape measure 100 changing from an initial state to a working state, the first controller 150 controls the imaging component 132-1 (e.g., a micro CMOS camera) to start working. The imaging component 132-1 captures images in the moving process of the tape to consecutively acquire the images of the tape 120 in the moving process and further transmits the acquired images to the image processing circuit 132-3 in real time. The initial state and the working state of the tape measure 100 are as described above, which will not be described here redundantly.
For example, the image processing circuit 132-3 performs feature comparison on the images consecutively acquired by the imaging component 132-1, and determines, based on a moving distance of a same feature between a set of adjacent images, a moving distance of the tape 120 in the target direction D corresponding to the set of adjacent images. The image processing circuit 132-3 may successively transmit, as the relative to displacement, the moving distance of the tape 120 in the target direction D corresponding to each set of adjacent images to the first controller 150. The image processing circuit 132-3 may determine the moving distances of the tape 120 in the target direction D corresponding to a plurality of sets of adjacent images and then transmit the moving distance of the tape 120 in the target direction D corresponding to the last set of adjacent images to the first controller 150.
As described previously, the relative displacement is a vector, which will not be described here redundantly.
Continuously referring to
In some embodiments, after receiving the relative displacement corresponding to the current image, the first controller 150 adds the relative displacement corresponding to the current image with a relative length corresponding to the previous image to obtain a relative length corresponding to the current image. The relative length corresponding to the current image is a displacement of the tape 120 relative to the first outlet 114 in the target direction D that is calculated by the first controller 150, starting from the first controller 150 controlling the imaging sensor 132 to start working to a time point when the current image is acquired.
It will be understood that, as described previously, the limiting lug 112 has a thickness and the tape measure 100 may have a manufacturing error. For the above situation of the tape measure 100, after receiving the relative displacement transmitted by the imaging sensor 132, the first controller 150 adds the pre-stored initial length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 with the relative length in real time to obtain the length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 in real time.
In S712, the imaging component 132-1 captures images at a preset frequency to consecutively acquire the images of the tape 120 in the moving process.
In S714, the image processing circuit 132-3 performs feature comparison on a current image and an adjacent previous image to determine target feature points having a same feature in the two images; and in S716, the image processing circuit 132-3 determines the relative displacement of the tape in the target direction D in the current image relative to the previous image based on a first position of the target feature point in the current image and a second position of the target feature point in the previous image.
In some embodiments, with reference to
In some embodiments, after the imaging sensor 132 determines the relative displacement corresponding to the current image by the method P200, the image processing circuit 132-3 of the imaging sensor transmits the relative displacement corresponding to the current image to the first controller 150 such that the first controller 150 to further determine a total length by which the tape 120 extends out in the target direction D. As described previously, a frequency or an interval at which the image processing circuit 132-3 of the imaging sensor 132 transmits relative displacements to the first controller 150 is as described previously, which will not be described here redundantly.
Herein, due to a high capturing frequency of the imaging component 132-1 of the imaging sensor 132, it can also be effectively ensured that the first controller 150 can guarantee the instantaneity of determining the extension length of the tape 120 and can also reduce the number of times of information interaction, thereby reducing the power consumption of the tape measure 100.
In an exemplary embodiment, after determining the length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110, the first controller 150 may control the output assembly to output measurement data in real time. For example, the measurement data is controlled to be displayed on a display screen of the tape measure 100 in real time, and/or the measurement data is controlled to be broadcast in voice by a speaker of the tape measure 100. For another example, the measurement data is transmitted to an external device through an output interface so as to be displayed on a display screen of the external device and/or broadcast in voice by a speaker of the external device. For example, in the process of the tape 120 being pulled out of/retracting into the first shell 110, numbers shown on the display screen constantly change as the tape 120 is pulled out/retracts. When the tape 120 stops moving, the numbers shown on the display screen correspond to a current length by which the tape 120 extends out. Thus, it is realized that a measurement result is automatically provided for a user and the user does not need to view the measurement reading of the tape with naked eyes. This is not only convenient for the user to determine the measurement data, but also avoids an error caused by viewing with naked eyes, thus being conducive to improving the accuracy of measurement.
As described previously, to further improve the accuracy of measurement, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides the tape measure 100 with the correction function.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
For example, in the tape measure 100 having the position identifiers 126 and the position identification sensor 134, a specific implementation that the first controller 150 determines a length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 includes:
In some embodiments, after receiving the absolute position signal, the first controller 150 further determines the position of the target position identifier 126 corresponding to the absolute position signal on the tape 120 to obtain the absolute length corresponding to the target position identifier 126. Specifically, the first controller 150 may determine, based on the absolute position signal, the currently read position identifier 126 as the target position identifier 126 of which the data bit is binary “011”. The first controller 150 may determine, according to the pre-stored one-to-one correspondence between each position identifier 126 and an actual extension length (i.e., an absolute length) of the tape 120, the absolute length by which the tape 120 currently extends out as the length stored in association with the target position identifier 126.
Further, the first controller 150 determines a relative length based on the absolute length and relative displacements received after resetting to zero. For example, the first controller 150 adds the relative length with the initial length, thereby determining the length by which the tape 120 extends out of the shell in the target direction D in real time.
As shown in
In some embodiments, after receiving the absolute position signal, the first controller 150 needs to inform the imaging sensor 132 that the accumulated relative displacement is reset to zero, avoiding error accumulation in the relative displacement. Specifically, the first controller 150 further generates a resetting signal in response to receiving the absolute position signal, and transmits the resetting signal to the imaging sensor 132.
As shown in
For example, in the tape measure 100 having the position identifiers 126 and the position identification sensor 134, a specific implementation that the imaging sensor 132 determines the relative displacement may include:
As shown in
For example, in the tape measure 100 having the position identifiers 126 and the position identification sensor 134, a specific implementation that the first controller 150 determines a length by which the tape 120 extends out of the first shell 110 includes:
Specifically, in case of receiving no absolute position signal, the first controller 150 may determine the relative displacement corresponding to the current image transmitted by the imaging sensor 132 as a relative length corresponding to the current image, and further may determine an extension length of the tape 120 in the target direction D at a time point when the current image is acquired by adding the relative length corresponding to the current image with the initial length. In case of receiving the absolute position signal, the first controller 150 may add the relative displacement corresponding to the current image transmitted by the imaging sensor 132 and the latest determined absolute length, determined as the relative length corresponding to the current image, and further may determine the extension length of the tape 120 in the target direction D at the time point when the current image is acquired by adding the relative length corresponding to the current image with the initial length.
As can be seen through the embodiment provided by
In some embodiments, with reference to
With reference to
The tape measure 100 provided herein is provided with the execution body 142-1 with two triggering surfaces and the connecting piece 142-3 movably connected to the execution body 142-1. Thus, in the event that any triggering surface receives a triggering surface, the execution body 142-1 may drive the connecting piece 142-3 to move in the first direction D1, thereby actuating the braking component 144 to change from a separate state to a contact state between the braking component 144 and the tape 120 or change from the contact state to the separate state between the braking component 144 and the tape 120. As can be seen, in the process of measuring using the tape measure 100, even though one triggering surface of the execution body 142-1 presses against other obstacle so that a user cannot reach the triggering surface, the user may also control the tape 120 by means of the other triggering surface of the execution body 142-1. Thus, the measurement flexibility is effectively improved.
With reference to
In some embodiments, with reference to
In some embodiments, with reference to
Based on the structure of the execution body 142-1 described above, when the first triggering surface 142-11 is triggered, the execution body 142-1 drives, by means of the rotational connection, the connecting piece 142-3 to move in the first direction. When the second triggering surface 142-13 is triggered, the first rotation limiting portion 142-17 is mated with the first shell 110 to limit the rotation of the execution body 142-1 relative to the connecting piece 142-3, thus ensuring that the execution body 142-1 drives the connecting piece 142-3 to move in the first direction D1.
With reference to
The guiding portion 142-33 is disposed in the first direction D1 and slidably connected to the first shell 110 in the first direction D1. Thus, in the event that any triggering surface of the execution body 142-1 is triggered, the connecting piece 142-3 movably connected to the execution body 142-1 is capable of moving in the first direction D1, thereby driving the braking component 144 to be separated from or come into contact with the tape 120. In some embodiments, at least a group of guiding portions 142-33 may be provided. Each group of guiding portions 142-33 includes two guiding portions which are specifically distributed on the left and right sides of the tape 120 to ensure the stability of the connecting piece 142-3 moving in the first direction D1.
In the process of the connecting piece 142-3 moving in the first direction D1, the driving portion 142-35 is configured to drive the braking component 144, and specifically drive the braking component 144 to come into contact with or be separated from the tape 120, thus realizing braking or release of the tape 120. For example, at least a group of driving portions 142-35 may be provided. Each group of driving portions 142-35 includes two driving portions which are specifically distributed on the left and right sides of the tape 120.
The execution body 142-1 may be connected to the connecting piece 142-3 by means of the connecting shaft 142-2. Specifically, the connecting shaft 142-2 passes through the hole A, the hole C, the hole D, and the hole B in this order, thereby realizing rotational connection between the execution body 142-1 and the connecting piece 142-3. Thus, when the first triggering surface 142-11 is triggered, the execution body 142-1 drives, by means of the rotational connection, the connecting piece 142-3 to move in the first direction D1. When the second triggering surface 142-13 is triggered, if there is no first rotation limiting portion 142-17, the execution body 142-1 and the connecting piece 142-3 rotate relatively relative to the rotational connection. When the second triggering surface 142-13 is triggered, the first rotation limiting portion 142-17 is mated with the first shell 110 to limit the rotation of the execution body 142-1 relative to the connecting piece 142-3, thus ensuring that the execution body 142-1 can drive the connecting piece 142-3 to move in the first direction D1 in the event that any triggering surface is triggered.
In some embodiments, with reference to
It will be understood that in other embodiments, the first rotation limiting portion 142-17 included in the execution body 142-1 is in the shape of a shaft, and the limiting lug 116 provided by the first shell 110 is in a rotary shape capable of being mated with the shaft. The rotation limiting portion in the shape of the shaft is mated with the limiting lug 116 in the rotary shape so that the rotation of the execution body 142-1 relative to the connecting piece 142-3 can be limited.
The foregoing embodiments show the embodiments of rotational connection between the execution body 142-1 and the connecting piece 142-3. In other embodiments, the movable connection between the execution body 142-1 and the connecting piece 142-3 may also be implemented by a sliding connection.
In some embodiments, when the first triggering surface 142-11 is trigged, the execution body 142-1 drives, by means of the sliding connection, the connecting piece 142-3 to move in the first direction D1. When the second triggering surface 142-13 is triggered, in case of no sliding limiting portion 115 provided, the execution body 142-1 will slide in the second direction D2 relative to the connecting piece 142-3. Herein, when the second triggering surface 142-13 is triggered, limited by the sliding limiting portion 115, the execution body 142-1 is restricted by the sliding limiting portion 115 to move in the first direction D1 away from the tape 120 such that the execution body 142-1 drives the connecting piece 142-3 to move in the first direction D1 toward the tape 120. That is, the execution body 142-1 is capable of driving the connecting piece 142-3 to move in the first direction D1 toward the tape 120. As can be seen, in the event that any triggering surface of the execution body 142-1 is triggered, the connecting piece 142-3 can move in the first direction D1, thereby ensuring the stability of control on the tape 120.
With reference to
In some embodiments, the first braking body 144-1 may be movably connected to the first shell 110. For example, with reference to
In some embodiments, with reference to
In some embodiments, with reference to
Specifically, the braking component 144 and the execution component 142 are located on a same side of the tape 120. When the two triggering surfaces of the execution body 142-1 are not triggered, under the supporting action of the elastic supporting portion 142-4, the second braking body 144-5 connected to the connecting piece 142-3 is in the separate state from the tape 120, i.e., the tape 120 is not in the braked state. When any triggering surface of the execution body 142-1 is triggered, the connecting piece 142-3 is driven by the execution body 142-1 to move in the first direction D1. The second braking body 144-5 connected to the connecting piece 142-3 moves toward the tape 120 and gradually presses against the tape 120, thereby realizing the braking of the tape 120.
The second shell 230 may be a mounting base of the laser ranging device 200. The second shell 230 may be provided with a second outlet 231. The second outlet 231 may include an emitting port 2311 and a receiving port 2312. The emitting port 2311 and the receiving port 2312 may be disposed in parallel. The laser measuring portion 250 may be disposed in the second shell 230, and may, during working, measure a distance in a second measuring direction through the second outlet 231. Specifically, the laser measuring portion 250 may include an emitter 252 and a receiver 254. During working, the emitter 252 emits ranging laser through the emitting port 2311 to a target object/obstacle, and the ranging laser is reflected off the target object and passes through the receiving port 2312 to be received by the receiver 254. A distance between the target object and an origin of measurement is then determined from a time difference between the emission and the reception of the ranging laser.
In some embodiments, the tape measure 100 and the laser ranging device 200 may be detachably connected, thereby facilitating replacement of one of them that is damaged to affect the use. Specifically, the tape measure 100 may include a first connection portion 180. The first connection portion 180 may be connected to the first shell 110. The laser ranging device 200 may include a second connection portion 240. The second connection portion may be connected to the second shell 230. The tape measure 100 and the laser ranging device 200 may be detachably connected by the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240 such that the tape measure 100 is mated with the laser ranging device 200 to realize distance measurements in different ways. The different ways may include different directions and/or different measuring ranges.
When the measuring directions of the tape measure 100 and the laser ranging device 200 are different, the tape measure 100 may match the laser ranging device 200 to realize measurements in different directions. When the measuring ranges of the tape measure 100 and the laser ranging device 200 are different, the tape measure 100 is mated with the laser ranging device 200 to realize measurements of different measuring ranges. When the measuring directions and the measuring ranges of the tape measure 100 and the laser ranging device 200 are different, the tape measure 100 may match the laser ranging device 200 to realize measurements of different measuring ranges in different directions.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
It needs to be noted that the first measuring direction V1 may be substantially the same as, opposite to, or perpendicular to, or may be roughly the same as, opposite to, or perpendicular to the second measuring direction V2. That is, a certain error is allowed. The magnitude of the error is related to the precision of the tape measure 100 and the laser ranging device 200.
It needs to be noted that
In some embodiments, the first connection portion 180 may be movably connected to the first shell 110, and/or the second connection portion 240 may be rotationally connected to the second shell 230. For example, the rotational connection allows the included angle between the first measuring direction V1 and the second measuring direction V2 to be adjusted. Thus, any angle may be formed between the first measuring direction V1 and the second measuring direction V2, thereby meeting the use requirements and expanding the use scenarios. For example, the included angle between the first measuring direction V1 and the second measuring direction V2 may be adjusted between 0° and 360°. The rotational connection may be implemented in many ways, such as hinged connection with damping and hinged connection by a ratchet wheel.
The detachable connection of the tape measure 100 and the laser ranging device 200 is achieved by connecting the first connection portion 180 on the tape measure 100 with the second connection portion 240 on the laser ranging device 200.
As shown in
The second connecting mechanism 241 may be disposed on the second connection portion 240, and the first connecting mechanism 181 may be disposed on the first connection portion 180. The second connecting mechanism 241 may also be disposed on the first connection portion 180, and the first connecting mechanism 181 may be disposed on the second connection portion 240. The clamping slot 242 may be disposed on the second connection portion 240, and the spring clamping point 182 may be disposed on the first connection portion 180. The clamping slot 242 may also be disposed on the first connection portion 180, and the spring clamping point 182 may be disposed on the second connection portion 240. For ease of showing, we will make the following description by taking for example that the second connecting mechanism 241 is disposed on the second connection portion 240, the first connecting mechanism 181 disposed on the first connection portion 180, the clamping slot 242 disposed on the second connection portion 240, and the spring clamping point 182 disposed on the first connection portion 180. Those skilled in the art will understand that other cases also fall into the protection scope of the present disclosure.
The second connecting mechanism 241 may be a slot extending in a sliding direction. The first connecting mechanism 181 may be slidably connected to the second connecting mechanism 241 in the sliding direction. The second connecting mechanism 241 may match the first connecting mechanism 181. The matching may be matching between shapes and sizes of engaging surfaces of the second connecting mechanism 241 and the first connecting mechanism 181. For example, the second connecting mechanism 241 may be a fixed connecting groove, and the first connecting mechanism 181 may be a connecting lug boss. When the second connecting mechanism 241 is mated with the first connecting mechanism 181, the second connecting mechanism 241 plays a guiding role so that the first connecting mechanism 181 can slide in an extension direction (i.e., the sliding direction) of the second connecting mechanism 241. A cross-section shape of the second connecting mechanism 241 may be a triangle, a rectangle, a dovetail, a circle, etc. The extension direction of the second connecting mechanism 241 may be any direction. The extension direction of the second connecting mechanism 241 shown in
When the first connecting mechanism 181 slides along the second connecting mechanism 241 to a specified position, the spring clamping point 182 may be clamped into the clamping slot 242. The clamping slot 242 may match the spring clamping point 182. The matching may be matching between shapes and sizes of engaging surfaces of the spring clamping point 182 and the clamping slot 242. When the first connection portion 180 is connected to the second connection portion 240, the first connecting mechanism 181 is slidably connected to the second connecting mechanism 241 in the sliding direction until the spring clamping point 182 is clamped into the clamping slot 242, so as to realize fixed connection of the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240. The matching of the spring clamping point 182 with the clamping slot 242 may cause the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240 to be fixed relatively in the sliding direction, thereby realizing reliable connection of the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240. The coupling surfaces of the clamping slot 242 and the spring clamping point 182 are wedge-shaped surfaces in the sliding direction. For example, the coupling surfaces of the clamping slot 242 and the spring clamping point 182 in the sliding direction are trumpet-shaped. In this way, when the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240 are connected, the spring clamping point 182 can be clamped into the clamping slot 242 rapidly and accurately by means of the trumpet-shaped inclined surfaces; and when the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240 are detached, the spring clamping point 182 can be disengaged from the clamping slot 242 rapidly and readily by means of the trumpet-shaped inclined surfaces.
When the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240 are connected, the first connecting mechanism 181 is clamped into the second connecting mechanism 241 and slides in the sliding direction relative to the second connecting mechanism 241 to a specified position, and then the spring clamping point 182 is clamped into the clamping slot 242. When the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240 are detached, as the second connection portion 240 moves in the sliding direction under the action of an external force, a pressure is produced by the wedge-shaped surface on the spring clamping point 182 such that the spring clamping point 182 is compressed and thus disengaged from the clamping slot 242, causing the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240 to move relatively in the sliding direction until they are disengaged from each other.
As described previously, the optical positioning assembly 140, the imaging sensor 132, and the position identification sensor 134 may be disposed in the tape measure 100 to read an extension length of the tape. The first controller 150 may calculate, based on the data detected by the optical positioning assembly 140, a distance, i.e., first measurement data, measured by the tape 120. In this case, the first measurement data measured by the tape measure 100 needs to be output through the output assembly. The output assembly may be an output device and/or an output interface. Second measurement data measured by the laser ranging device 200 also needs to be output through the output assembly. In this case, the laser ranging device 200 may include a second controller. The second controller may be electrically connected to the laser ranging device 200 to generate the second measurement data measured by the laser ranging device 200.
When the tape measure 100 is connected to the laser ranging device 200, the tape measure 100 and the laser ranging device 200 may have their own independent output assemblies, or may share a same output assembly. When the tape measure 100 and the laser ranging device 200 share one output assembly, one of the tape measure 100 and the laser ranging device 200 may include the output assembly. In this case, when the tape measure 100 is connected to the laser ranging device 200, the output assembly may output the first measurement data measured by the tape measure 100 and/or the second measurement data measured by the laser ranging device 200. As shown in
When the tape measure 100 is connected to the laser ranging device 200, to enable the output assembly 210 to output both of the first measurement data and the second measurement data, the output assembly 210 needs to be electrically connected to both of the first controller 150 and the second controller to receive the first measurement data and the second measurement data from the first controller 150 and the second controller. In this case, one of the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240 may further include a connector 184, and the other one may further include a connecting base 244. The connecting base 244 may be disposed on the second connection portion 240, and the connector 184 may be disposed on the first connection portion 180. The connecting base 244 may also be disposed on the first connection portion 180, and the connector 184 may be disposed on the second connection portion 240. For ease of showing, we will make the following description by taking for example that the connecting base 244 is disposed on the second connection portion 240 and the connector 184 disposed on the first connection portion 180. Those skilled in the art will understand that other cases also fall into the protection scope of the present disclosure.
One of the connector 184 and the connecting base 244 is electrically connected to the output assembly 210. The electrical connection may be a direct electrical connection or an indirect electrical connection. For example, the indirect electrical connection is realized by means of the first controller 150 or the second controller. For example, one of the connector 184 and the connecting base 244 that is located on a same device with the output assembly 210 is electrically connected to the output assembly 210.
The connector 184 located on the first connection portion 180 may be electrically connected to the first controller 150 to transmit data. The connecting base 244 located on the second connection portion 240 may be electrically connected to the second controller to transmit data. The connector 184 and the connecting base 244 may be configured to transmit data. When the connector 184 is in contact with the connecting base 244, current flows through the connector 184 and the connecting base 244 so that data in the connector 184 and data in the connecting base 244 may be transmitted mutually.
As shown in
The connector 184 and the connecting base 244 may be disposed at any positions of the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240. An orientation in which the connector 184 is connected to the connecting base 244 may be any orientation. For example, the connector 184 and the connecting base 244 may be connected in the sliding direction, or may be connected in the first measuring direction V1, or may be connected in a direction perpendicular to the first measuring direction V1 and the sliding direction. When the first connection portion 180 is connected to the second connection portion 240, the connector 184 is electrically connected to the connecting base 244 so that both of the first controller 150 and the second controller can be electrically connected to the output assembly 210.
In some embodiments, to guarantee the reliability of connection between the connector 184 and the connecting base 244, one of the first connection portion 180 and the second connection portion 240 may further include a first positioning mechanism 183, and the other one may further include a second positioning mechanism 243. The connector 184 and the connecting base 244 are mounted on the first positioning mechanism 183 and the second positioning mechanism 243, respectively. The first positioning mechanism 183 matches the second positioning mechanism 243. For example, the first positioning mechanism 183 may be a positioning lug boss, and the second positioning mechanism 243 may be a positioning groove. When the tape measure 100 is connected to the laser ranging device 200, the first positioning mechanism 183 is clamped into the second positioning mechanism 243. The first positioning mechanism 183 and the second positioning mechanism 243 may be disposed in a direction in which the connector 184 is connected to the connecting base 244. For example, the first positioning mechanism 183 and the second positioning mechanism 243 may be disposed in the sliding direction.
In some embodiments, the measuring device 1000 may further include the marking assembly 300. The marking assembly 300 may be mechanically connected to the tape measure 100 and/or the laser ranging device 200. When the marking assembly 300 is running, laser may be emitted along a marking plane to a target plane such that a laser marking passing through a reference point is irradiated by the laser in the target plane. The reference point may include a reference point during ranging by the tape measure 100 and/or the laser ranging device 200.
By using the marking assembly 300, a user can measure a distance between two points in a specified direction. For example, the user may need to measure a distance d between point A (the target point) and point B (the reference point) on a wall P1 (target plane) in the X direction. The reference point B for the measurement starting point (i.e., origin O) is beyond the X direction, but located within a length of the laser marking, and the laser marking is capable of reaching the reference point B. Thus, the measurement origin O of measurement of the measuring device 1000 can be calibrated by the reference point B, and the distance d between the reference point B and the target point A in the X direction may be measure accurately by the distance between the origin O of measurement and the point A. The target plane P1 may be a substantial plane which is in contact with the bottom of the measuring device 1000 when the measuring device 1000 is measuring. The target plane P1 may also be a virtual plane needing to be determined by a user according to actual measurement when the measuring device 1000 is measuring. The reference point is located in the target plane P1. The target point may be located in the target plane P1, or may not be located in the target plane P1. During measurement, the target point may coincide with the origin of measurement/During measurement, the X direction may be the first measuring direction V1 of the tape measure 100, or may be the second measuring direction V2 of the laser ranging device 200.
The marking assembly 300 is described below by taking for example that the marking assembly 300 is mounted on the second shell 230 of the laser ranging device 200, the target point is located in the target plane P1, and the tape measure 100 is used for ranging (the reference point is a reference point for ranging by the tape measure 100/during measurement, the bottom of the tape measure 100 is in contact with the target plane P1).
The marking assembly 300 may include a laser emitter 310 and a reflecting element 320 (shown in
The laser emitter 310, when running, is capable of emitting laser to the reflecting element 320. The reflecting element 320 may include a reflecting surface 321. The reflecting surface 321 may be spaced apart from the laser emitter 310. The reflecting surface 321 receives the laser emitted by the laser emitter 310 and can reflect the laser along the marking plane P2, allowing the laser to cover a field of view (herein the field of view refers to the entire emission range of the laser). The reflecting surface 321 of the reflecting element 320 may include at least a portion of a conical surface. A cone angle of the conical surface may be 90° such that the laser reflected by the conical surface is in the same plane.
The reflecting surface 321 of the reflecting element 320 may include at least a portion of the conical surface. The reflecting surface 321 may be a complete circular conical surface, as shown in
A field of view radiated by the laser refers to an area composed of the laser that is reflected by the reflecting surface 321 and then exits to the outside of the measuring device 1000.
The laser emitter 310, when working, emits laser to a vertex of a cone-shaped reflecting element 320. Under the action of the conical surface, the laser forms an initial laser plane spreading 360° around. However, since the marking assembly 300 is mounted on a groove, part of the laser in the laser plane will be blocked by the laser ranging device 200 and other structures from exiting to the outside of the measuring device 1000, and the remaining laser will exit to the outside of the measuring device 1000 from both sides of the laser ranging device 200. The area composed of this part of laser is the field of view of the laser. As shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments, the marking assembly 300 may further include the marking adjusting assembly 330. The marking adjusting assembly 330 may be mechanically connected to the second shell 230, and a length of a laser marking in the target plane P1 is adjusted by adjusting the field of view of the laser.
The marking adjusting assembly 330 may include a light blocking element 331 such that the measuring device 1000, when running, has at least a first mode and a second mode. In the first mode, the light blocking element 331 is at a first position and the field of view has a first field angle such that the length of the laser marking in the target plane P1 is a first length. In the second mode, the light blocking element 331 is at a second position and the field of view has a second field angle such that the length of the laser marking in the target plane P1 is a second length. There are a plurality of options for implementing that the light blocking element 331 adjusts the length of the laser marking by blocking the laser, which will be described below separately by way of example.
The marking adjusting assembly 330 may be designed into a rotational structure. The user may rotationally adjust the light blocking element 331, thereby adjusting a degree of blocking the laser.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the user may slidably adjust the light blocking element 331, thereby adjusting the degree of blocking the laser by the light blocking element 331. The light blocking element 331 may be slidably connected to the second shell 230 in a direction in which the laser is reflected so that an amount of the blocked laser can be adjusted by sliding the light blocking element 331 between the first position and the second position.
The marking adjusting assembly 330 may include a bracket 333. The bracket 333 may be fixedly connected to the second shell 230. The light blocking element 331 is rotationally connected to the bracket 333 and thus may rotate about the axis b between the first position and the second position to adjust the amount of the blocked laser, thereby adjusting a field angle. A rotation range of the light blocking element 331 is limited by designing a structure between the light blocking element 331 and the bracket 333. For example, the light blocking element 331 may include a limiting slot 331-a. The limiting slot 331-a may be on one side of the light blocking element 331, e.g., in a direction toward the exiting laser. The limiting slot 331-a may be arc-shaped and has a first end e1 and a second end e2. Correspondingly, the bracket 333 may include a limit stop 333-a. The limit stop 333-a may be in the limiting slot 331-a and slidably connected to the limiting slot 331-a.
When the limit stop 333-a slides along the limiting slot 331-a to the first end e1 and presses against the first end e1, the light blocking element 331 rotates to the first position, and the limit stop 333-a prevents the light blocking element 331 from further rotating. The first side S1 of the light blocking element 331 faces the target plane P1 to block light, and the field angle of the field of view of the laser is the first field angle. When the limit stop 333-a slides along the limiting slot 331-a to the second end e2 and presses against the second end e2, the light blocking element 331 rotates to the second position, and the limit stop 333-a prevents the light blocking element 331 from further rotating. The second side S2 of the light blocking element 331 faces the target plane P1 to block light, and the field angle of the field of view of the laser is the second field angle.
When both of left and right light blocking elements 331 are located in the first position, the measuring device 1000 is in the first mode. Only the laser flush with the target plane P1 and the laser closer to the target plane P1 can emit the laser markings onto the target plane P1, forming the first field angle of 180°, where the half field angles corresponding to the left and right light blocking elements 331 are both 90°.
When both of the left and right light blocking elements 331 are located in the second position, the measuring device 1000 is in the second mode. At this time, the second side S2 of the light blocking element 331 is closer to the target plane P1 relative to the vertex of the conical surface of the reflecting element 320, and the second side S2 is higher than the second shell 230 such that the light blocking element 331 blocks the laser having the angle of inclination of less than 15° relative to the target plane P1 in the reflected laser, forming the second field angle of 150°, where the half field angles corresponding to the left and right light blocking elements 331 are both 75°.
Likewise, when the left light blocking element 331 is in the first position and the right light blocking element 331 is in the second position, the measuring device 1000 is in a third mode, and the field angle of the corresponding third field of view is 165°, where the left half field angle is 90° and the corresponding laser marking is infinitely long; and the right half field angle is 75° and the corresponding laser marking is finitely long.
When the left light blocking element 331 is in the second position and the right light blocking element 331 is in the first position, the measuring device 1000 is in a fourth mode, and the field angle of the corresponding fourth field of view is 165°, where the left half field angle is 75° and the corresponding laser marking is finitely long; and the right half field angle is 90° and the corresponding laser marking is infinitely long.
In some embodiments, an outer edge of the light blocking surface may be in an involute form to continuously adjust the amount of the blocked laser. The light blocking element 331 may also change the amount of the blocked laser discontinuously.
To guarantee that the laser marking can reach the reference point at any position, in addition to the above solutions, the laser marking emitted by the marking assembly 300 to the target plane P1 may be set to be adjustable in length.
For ease of description, the left (L) and right (R) direction of the reflecting element 320 are defined with a direction pointed by the vertex of the conical reflecting surface 321 in the measuring device 1000 as a forward direction. The reflecting surface 321 may be part of a circular conical surface. Under the action of the part of the conical surface, the laser forms an initial laser plane spreading around at an angle θ5. θ5 is less than 180°. The following description is made by taking for example that the field of view roughly faces the target plane P1.
An initial pose of the reflecting element 320 is as shown in
The foregoing describes the specific embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments fall within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions or steps described in the claims may be performed in sequences different from those in the embodiments and still achieve expected results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying drawings do not necessarily require the specific orders or sequential orders shown for achieving the expected results. In some implementations, multitasking and parallel processing are also possible or may be advantageous.
In summary, after reading this detailed disclosure, those skilled in the art can understand that the foregoing detailed disclosure may be presented by way of example only, and may not be limited. Although there is no clear description, those skilled in the art can understand that the present disclosure intends to cover various reasonable changes, improvements, and modifications of the embodiments. These changes, improvements, and modifications are intended to be proposed in the present disclosure and are within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
In addition, some specific terms in the present disclosure have been used to describe the embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, and/or “some embodiments” mean that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in combination with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, it can be emphasized and should be understood that two or more references to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternative embodiment” in various parts of the present disclosure do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. In addition, specific feature, structure, or characteristic may be appropriately combined in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
It should be understood that in the foregoing description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, to help understand a feature, and for the purpose of simplifying the present disclosure, the present disclosure sometimes combines various features in a single embodiment, a drawing, or description thereof. However, this does not mean that the combination of these features is necessary. It is entirely possible for those skilled in the art to extract some of the features as a single embodiment for understanding when reading the present disclosure. In other words, the embodiments in the present disclosure can also be understood as an integration of multiple sub-embodiments. The content of each sub-embodiment is also true when it is less than all the characteristics of a single previously disclosed embodiment.
Each patent, patent application, patent application publication and other materials cited herein, such as articles, books, specifications, publications, documents, articles and the like, may be incorporated herein by reference. The entire content used for all purposes, except for any related litigation document history, may be inconsistent or conflicting with this document, or any identical litigation document that may have restrictive influence on the broadest scope of the claims' history. Those are associated with this document now or in the future. For example, if the description, definition, and/or use of terms in any associated materials contained herein is inconsistent with or in conflict with that in this document, the terms in this document shall prevail.
Finally, it should be understood that the embodiment of the present disclosure provided herein is an explanation of the principle of the embodiment of the present disclosure. Other modified embodiments are also within the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure are merely examples rather than limitations. Those skilled in the art can adopt alternative configurations according to the embodiments in the present disclosure to implement the present disclosure in the present disclosure. Therefore, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to those exactly described in the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202311498172.1 | Nov 2023 | CN | national |
| 202311500213.6 | Nov 2023 | CN | national |
| 202311500390.4 | Nov 2023 | CN | national |
| 202311502442.1 | Nov 2023 | CN | national |
| 202311506968.7 | Nov 2023 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation application of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2023/141877, filed on Dec. 26, 2023; PCT/CN2023/141877 claimed the benefit of priority of the following Chinese Application Numbers filed on Nov. 10, 2023: CN 202311506968.7, CN 202311500390.4, CN 202311500213.6, CN 202311498172.1 and CN 202311502442.1, and the contents of the foregoing documents are incorporated herein by reference in entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2023/141877 | Dec 2023 | WO |
| Child | 18421959 | US |
