Vehicle wheel alignment apparatus and method
US4745469A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 18, 1987 |
| Grant date | May 17, 1988 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 18, 2007 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/53922
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Noncontact sensors project fanned or structured light onto the tire, while the wheel is rotated, to illuminate at least two contour lines on the surface of the tire. The contour lines are read by video cameras, positioned offset from the optical plane of the structured light, to allow triangulation in determining the spatial position of the contour lines. Radially equivalent points are selected from each contour line by an algorithm which ignores the effects of any raised lettering on the tire sidewalls. Control of the video cameras and processing of the video data is performed by parallel processor-based computer system coordinated by sequencer circuit.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.