DISTANCE MEASURING INSTRUMENT AND METHOD

摘要

A distance measuring instrument comprises: at least one light source (5); at least one light detector (9); optics (23) to direct measuring light emitted from the at least one light source towards an object (3) and to direct measuring light received back from the object to the at least one detector; a signal delay module (51); a first signal analyzer (42); and a variable gain amplifier (33). A distance measuring method comprises: emitting a pulse of measuring light towards an object; receiving a pulse measuring light from the object and generating a pulse signal corresponding to the pulse of measuring light received from the object; delaying a first portion of the generated pulse signal for a predetermined time; generating an intensity signal indicative of an intensity of the generated pulse signal, while delaying the first portion of the generated pulse signal; amplifying the delayed first portion of the generated pulse signal using a gain dependent on the generated intensity signal; determining a value representing a distance based on the amplified delayed first portion of the generated pulse signal.