The present invention generally relates to a geodetic apparatus, in particular a tacheometer or a theodolite.
A geodetic apparatus such as a tacheometer or theodolite is generally used for sighting or focusing objects and for determining their (relative) position. For this purpose, a geodetic apparatus generally comprises an optical device for sighting or focusing said objects, for instance a lens, telescope, camera or the like.
In the geodetic apparatus, the optical device is supported such that it may turn around a first axis so as to aim at an object. For turning and adjusting the optical device, various adjustment means are known in the art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,643,940 generally discloses a device for horizontal and vertical adjustment in geodetic devices comprising fine adjustment gear units each having a worm and a worm gear with a friction clutch. While this device generally works properly, it requires parts which are relatively complicated to manufacture such as the worm.
Further, DE 295 03 919 U discloses an adjustment device in a geodetic apparatus comprising a fine adjustment lever. Said fine adjustment lever has arranged thereon several teeth which are aligned on a straight line. Said teeth mesh with a drive element having a planar thread. Further, the fine adjustment lever is connected with an axis of an optical element to be adjusted via a clamping mechanism. If the optical element is to be adjusted in a wide range of angles, the clamping mechanism is released so as to turn the optical element. Subsequently, the clamping mechanism is tightened and the orientation of the optical element is fine adjusted using the fine adjustment lever. Thus, the known adjustment device has a complicated construction including a large number of parts and requires several steps for achieving an adjustment of the optical device in a wide range.