Method and apparatus for determining the position of an object
US4898464A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 31, 1987 |
| Grant date | Feb 6, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 31, 2007 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01B2210/283
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A system and method are provided using a photodetector array for producing an output signal which is compensated for the effects of ambient light, photodetector bias, and the like, wherein the output signal contains information indicative of the position of the object. The preferred embodiment is useful for vehicular wheel alignment and includes left and right wheel units for coupling to respective left and right steerable wheels of a vehicle, and a central microcomputer and CRT display operably coupled with each wheel unit. Each preferred wheel unit includes a photodetector array operably connected to a wheel unit microcomputer and a laser beam source directing a laser beam toward the array of the other wheel unit. In use, the central microcomputer turns each laser off and on, whereupon the wheel unit microcomputers store corresponding sets of data and produce respective output signals indicative of the impingement location of each laser beam on the respective arrays which signals are compensated for the effects of ambient light, detector bias, and the like.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.