WO2014033086A1 - An apparatus for synchronization of cameras in a vehicle wheel alignment system and a method thereof - Google Patents
An apparatus for synchronization of cameras in a vehicle wheel alignment system and a method thereof Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2014033086A1 WO2014033086A1 PCT/EP2013/067622 EP2013067622W WO2014033086A1 WO 2014033086 A1 WO2014033086 A1 WO 2014033086A1 EP 2013067622 W EP2013067622 W EP 2013067622W WO 2014033086 A1 WO2014033086 A1 WO 2014033086A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- measurement head
- measurement
- transceiver
- heads
- synchronizing
- Prior art date
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Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
- G01B11/00—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques
- G01B11/26—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring angles or tapers; for testing the alignment of axes
- G01B11/275—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring angles or tapers; for testing the alignment of axes for testing wheel alignment
- G01B11/2755—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring angles or tapers; for testing the alignment of axes for testing wheel alignment using photoelectric detection means
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
- G01B2210/00—Aspects not specifically covered by any group under G01B, e.g. of wheel alignment, caliper-like sensors
- G01B2210/10—Wheel alignment
- G01B2210/12—Method or fixture for calibrating the wheel aligner
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
- G01B2210/00—Aspects not specifically covered by any group under G01B, e.g. of wheel alignment, caliper-like sensors
- G01B2210/10—Wheel alignment
- G01B2210/14—One or more cameras or other optical devices capable of acquiring a two-dimensional image
- G01B2210/143—One or more cameras on each side of a vehicle in the main embodiment
Abstract
The present invention discloses a device (10) for vehicle wheel alignment. The device (10) in accordance with the present invention comprises a measurement head (12) positioned facing each of the wheels of said vehicle. Each of the measurement head (12) includes an image capturing means (14), a pair of wireless transceivers (16a, 16b) and a control unit (18) for synchronizing the operation of said measurement heads (12) with each other.
Description
Description Title
AN APPARATUS FOR SYNCHRONIZATION OF CAM ERAS IN A VEHICLE WHEEL ALIGNM ENT SYSTEM AND A M ETHOD THEREOF
Field of the invention:
The invention relates to vehicle wheel alignment systems.
Particularly the invention relates to synchronizing the operation of the measurement heads in a vehicle wheel alignment system.
Background of the invention:
The alignment of the vehicle wheels is measured in angles with respect to different planes namely toe, caster and camber. It is required that these angles be within certain predetermined tolerance angle limits otherwise it results in difficulty during steering the vehicle and also causes uneven and excessive wearing of the tires. Vehicle wheel alignment systems include a plurality of head with cameras or similar image capturing means. The alignment angles of the wheel, i.e. toe, camber and caster is determined from the images captured by the cameras on the heads.
The heads for the wheel alignment systems need to be synchronized in operation with each other. The cameras on each of the heads should capture image at the same instant to achieve accurate measurement of the misalignment angles. The heads that are presently used are synchronized by wired means which may result in inclusion of delay in the operation and thus the synchronized operation of the cameras on the heads is not maintained.
Brief description of the invention:
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for synchronizing the operation of the wheel alignment systems to achieve accurate measurements.
The present invention discloses a device for vehicle wheel alignment comprising; a measurement head positioned facing each of the wheels of said vehicle. Each of the measurement head comprises an image capturing means, a pair of wireless transceivers and a control unit for synchronizing the operation of said measurement heads.
The present invention achieves accurate synchronization of the measurement heads in a vehicle wheel alignment system. Due to the optical transmission of the synchronization pulse between the heads, the delay introduced during transmission is almost negligible. As the measurement heads are synchronized in operation the image capturing elements capture the image at the same instant. Thus, the misalignment angles that are measured are more accurate.
Brief description of the drawings:
The present invention is described with reference to the following drawings,
Fig. 1 illustrates a vehicle wheel alignment with synchronizing means in accordance with the present invention; and
Fig. 2 illustrates a flowchart showing the method of synchronization of a vehicle wheel alignment system in accordance with the present invention.
Detailed description of the invention:
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawing illustrates a device (10) for vehicle wheel alignment system with synchronizing means in accordance with the present invention. The vehicle wheel alignment system includes a measurement head (12) which is positioned facing each of the wheels of said vehicle. Each of the measurement head (12) includes an image capturing means (14), a pair of wireless transceivers (16a, 16b) and a control unit (18) for synchronizing the operation of the measurement heads (12). Typically the image capturing means (14) is a camera.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the transceivers (16a, 16b) are optical in nature. These include laser transmitters, LEDs, infrared LEDs and corresponding suitable receiving or detecting means. Each measurement head (12) has two transceivers. Each of the transmitter receiver pair (16a, 16b) is positioned to establish optical link with at least two other transmitter receiver pairs. Since there are two pairs of transceivers (16a and 16b) on each of the measurement heads, the transmission of the synchronization pulse can happen bi-directionally, i.e. clockwise or anti-clockwise. In case there is an obstruction to the path of the optical link in one direction, then the direction of transmission can be reversed and the synchronization can be achieved.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention one of the measurement heads (12) acts as a master and remaining measurement heads (12) act as slaves and synchronize with the master measurement head (12). The master measurement head (12) generates a synchronizing pulse which is transmitted optically, starting from the master measurement head (12) to all the slave measurement heads (12) sequentially. Controller (18) of each measurement head (12) on receiving the synchronizing pulse synchronizes itself with the master measurement head (12).
Fig. 2 illustrates a flowchart for a method for synchronizing the image capturing means in a vehicle wheel alignment system. The method comprises the following steps. A synchronizing pulse is transmitted by a wireless transceiver (16a) mounted on a master measurement head (12) to a first wireless transceiver (16b) on a slave measurement head (12) facing it, (SO). The synchronizing pulse is transmitted from the first wireless transceiver (16b) on the slave measurement head (12) to a second transceiver (16a) on the same slave measurement head (12) facing another slave measurement head (12), (S1 ). The synchronizing pulse is transmitted successively from one slave measurement head (12) to the next slave measurement head (12) facing by wireless transceivers (16a), (S2). The last slave measurement head (12) transmits the synchronizing pulse back to the master measurement head (12), (S3). The control unit (18) on each of the slave measurement head (12) synchronizes with the master measurement head (12) on receiving the synchronizing pulse sent by said master measurement head (12)
(S4). The control unit (18) on receiving the synchronizing pulse from the transceiver (16b) is adapted to synchronize the operation of the image capturing means (14) with that of the image capturing means (14) on the master measurement head (12), (S5). The transmission of the synchronization pulse can be done from a transceiver (16) of one measurement head (12) to a transceiver (16) of another measurement head in clockwise direction or in anti-clockwise direction. After the image capturing means (14) on all the measurement heads (12) are synchronized then each of the image capturing means (14) is able to capture the image of the wheel at the same instant and hence achieve accurate measurement of misalignment angles of the wheels.
It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.
Claims
1 . A device (10) for vehicle wheel alignment comprising, a measurement head (12) positioned facing each of the wheels of said vehicle; each of said measurement head (12) comprising an image capturing means (14), a pair of wireless transceivers (16a, 16b) and a control unit (18) for synchronizing the operation of said measurement heads (12).
2. A device (10) as claimed in claim (1 ) wherein one of the measurement heads (12) acts as a master and remaining measurement heads (12) acting as slave synchronize with the master measurement head (12).
3. A device (10) as claimed in claim (1 ) wherein said image capturing means (14) is a camera.
4. A device (10) as claimed in claim (1 ) wherein each of said measurement head (12) is provided with two wireless transceivers (16a, 16b) facing two separate measurement heads (12).
5. A device (10) as claimed in claim (1 ) wherein said wireless transceivers (16a, 16b) are optical transceivers.
6. A method for synchronizing measurement heads (12) in a vehicle wheel alignment system, said method comprising the following steps,
transmitting a synchronizing pulse by a wireless transceiver (16) mounted on a master measurement head (12) to a first wireless transceiver (16) on a slave measurement head (12), (SO);
transmitting said synchronizing pulse from a first wireless transceiver (16) on the slave measurement head (12) to a second transceiver (16) on the same slave measurement head (12), (S1 );
transmitting said synchronizing pulse successively to each of the slave measurement heads (12) by wireless transceivers (16) mounted on said slave measurement heads (12), (S2);
transmitting said synchronizing pulse from a last slave measurement head (12) to said master measurement head (12), (S3); and
synchronizing each of the measurement head (12) to the synchronizing pulse sent by said master measurement head (S4).
7. A method as claimed in claim (6) wherein a control unit (18) receives the synchronizing pulse from the transceiver (16) and is adapted to synchronize the operation of the image capturing means (14) with the same, (S5).
8. A method as claimed in claim (6) wherein the pair of wireless transceivers (16) on each of said measurement head (12) are synchronized before one of the transceivers (16) transmits a wireless synchronization signal to a next measurement head (12).
9. A method as claimed in claim (6) wherein the transmission of the synchronization pulse can be transmitted from a transceiver (16) of one measurement head (12) to a transceiver (16) of another measurement head (12) in clockwise direction.
10. A method as claimed in claim (6) wherein the transmission of the synchronization pulse can be transmitted from a transceiver (16) of one measurement head (12) to a transceiver (16) of another measurement head (12) in anti-clockwise direction.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| IN3581CH2012 | 2012-08-29 | ||
| IN3581/CHE/2012 | 2012-08-29 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| WO2014033086A1 true WO2014033086A1 (en) | 2014-03-06 |
Family
ID=49083665
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2013/067622 WO2014033086A1 (en) | 2012-08-29 | 2013-08-26 | An apparatus for synchronization of cameras in a vehicle wheel alignment system and a method thereof |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| WO (1) | WO2014033086A1 (en) |
Citations (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5421095A (en) * | 1993-02-03 | 1995-06-06 | G.S. S.R.L. | Procedure for transmission of information in aligning equipment for motor vehicles, and aligning equipment for carrying out the procedure |
| US5532816A (en) * | 1994-03-15 | 1996-07-02 | Stellar Industries, Inc. | Laser tracking wheel alignment measurement apparatus and method |
| US6075589A (en) * | 1995-08-02 | 2000-06-13 | Muller Bem | Device for the geometric measurement and inspection of wheeled vehicles |
| US20020080343A1 (en) * | 2000-09-02 | 2002-06-27 | Herrmann Bux | Wheel alignment apparatus |
-
2013
- 2013-08-26 WO PCT/EP2013/067622 patent/WO2014033086A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5421095A (en) * | 1993-02-03 | 1995-06-06 | G.S. S.R.L. | Procedure for transmission of information in aligning equipment for motor vehicles, and aligning equipment for carrying out the procedure |
| US5532816A (en) * | 1994-03-15 | 1996-07-02 | Stellar Industries, Inc. | Laser tracking wheel alignment measurement apparatus and method |
| US6075589A (en) * | 1995-08-02 | 2000-06-13 | Muller Bem | Device for the geometric measurement and inspection of wheeled vehicles |
| US20020080343A1 (en) * | 2000-09-02 | 2002-06-27 | Herrmann Bux | Wheel alignment apparatus |
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