Geometrical instruments – Straight-line light ray type – Alignment device
Patent
1998-03-09
2000-09-12
Bennett, G. Bradley
Geometrical instruments
Straight-line light ray type
Alignment device
382152, 348135, G01B 524
Patent
active
061159271
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
Many measuring devices have been used on vehicles in the past to try to determine how much a vehicle frame needs to be straightened after an accident or to determine how to align the wheels or other portions of the vehicle. Mechanical measuring devices have been difficult to use. They require a user who is well-trained, take a lot of time to use, and are not as accurate as is desired. Other devices use sound waves and measure the time lapse from the time the sound is emitted to the time it reaches a plurality of sensors to determine the locations of points on the vehicle. These systems have many problems with extraneous noises from air hoses and other devices in a shop interfering with the readings of the sensors. They also have accuracy problems, because the speed at which the sound travels depends upon the weather and upon the speed at which air is moving through the shop. Other devices use targets that are mounted on the vehicle and scan the vehicle with lasers or other light to determine the locations of the targets. These systems require that all the targets be located on the same plane, which again is very cumbersome and time consuming. Up to now, there has been no system for measuring misalignment or the extent to which a measurement deviates from a standard, which is both accurate and easy to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,170 issued to Schulz describes a measuring system that is used in the medical field to track the location of a probe inside a patient during invasive surgery. While that system is not suited to measuring deviations of vehicles from a standard, it has several features similar to those of the present invention, and that patent is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a system which solves many of the problems of prior art vehicle measurement systems. It is quick and easy to use, requires very little training on the part of the user, and is very accurate. The system also provides information to the user essentially in real time, so that, as a user is straightening the frame or aligning wheels or other parts of a vehicle, he can watch the deviation from the standard decrease, until the vehicle measurement is aligned with the standard.
One important advantage of the present invention over other vehicle measurement systems is that the user can measure any point on the vehicle, including any point on the upper body of the vehicle, simply by touching that point with a probe. It is not necessary to build elaborate frameworks to bring the measured point down to some datum plane as in prior art systems.
The present invention uses electromagnetic radiation emitters, which are fixed relative to the vehicle, a movable probe having electromagnetic radiation emitters, and a camera including a plurality of electromagnetic radiation sensors, to measure the vehicle. A computer controls the emitters, receives data from the sensors, calculates the positions of the emitters relative to the sensors, and relates those positions to a stored, standard coordinate system for the vehicle, comparing the measured points to stored, standard data for the vehicle.
The camera may be moved around the vehicle to measure points at various locations on the vehicle. This is a great improvement over prior systems, in which all the points to be measured must be sensed from the sensor in a single position. Whenever the camera moves to a new position, it must be able to "see" some points of known position from the same position that it measures new points, so that the computer can relate the positions of the new points back to the known coordinate system.
The sensors are preferably mounted on a single boom or camera, so that their relative positions remain constant. There are slits in front of the sensors, so that each sensor receives a plane of electromagnetic radiation, from which the angle from the emitter to the sensor can be determined. With three sensors determining three intersecting planes, the point of intersection of the three planes is the location of the e
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Bennett G. Bradley
Brewco, Inc.
Fernandez Maria
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