Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Docket No.: BALC-l OSPCT
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADJUSTING
WHE». ALIG'rNMENT CAMERA HEIGHT
David A Jackson
Donald J. Christian
Hosharrg Shroff
I0 Qordon Schmeisser
John Hocking
Hugh Brickenden
William de Voss
IS
CROS S REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application Serial No.
60/052,181, filed July 10, 1997, entitled "Camera Lift for the 'Visualiner
3D'Wheel
Aligner."
BACKGROUND OF TFIE WNENTION
The presets invernion relates to a camera lift for use with an optical wheel
~i8usY~~ ~d more particularly to a novel camera lift system that provides a
display of the field of view of wheel alignment cameras and provides means for
an
operator to adjust the height of wheel aligrunear cameras.
In optical wheel alignmern systems, one or more cameras are used to develop
signals from targets that coruiea to the vehicle. See U.S. Patent No.
5,724,743, entitled
Method and Apparatus for Determining tht Alignment of Motor Vehicle Wheels. In
an
optical wheel alignment system, the position of the ~~ ~~ ran
substantially constant throughout a wheel aligement test. Therefore, the
cameras and the
horizontal beam upon or within which the cameras are mounted (hereinafter
"camera bar")
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remain in a $xed position at a fixed height at most times. Movement of the
camera bar
is avoided. T'o further prevent movemrnt of the camera bar during alignment
tests, the
camera bsr is secured to a stationary object. Routine camera bar height
adjustments have
heretofore been impractical. Nevertheless, to perform a wheel alignment test,
the images
on the wheel targets must be fully within the view of the alignment cameras.
In prior art
optical wheel alignment systems, the height of a vehicle lift is adjusted
through a wntrol
~,panel for a hydraulic or other mechanical system until the images on the
wheel targets
appear to be fully within view of the what alignm~t cameras.
In the prior art system described above, alignment adjustments ate made to a
vehicle at a lift height necessitated by the position of the camera bar. This
provides the
mechanic the benefit of observi~,g changes is alignment Parameters on a
display provided
by the optical slignment system as adjustments are made to the vehicle. The
height
required for the alignment system may not, however, correspond to the haght
that is most
conveniem or desirable for the mechanic or for performing the necessary
repairs. This
incotrveaience may have costs, such as inefficient use of the mechanic's tune
or less than
adequate service.
One system for adjusting the height of a wheel alignment camera bar is
disclosed
in U.S. Patent No. 5,675,515. ?he camera elevating mechanism disclosed therein
maintains the position of optical targets with respect to the field of view of
the cameras
as the vehicle lift and vehicle are elevated. However, the elevating system
disclosed
opiates under the control of a computer and does not provide a display so that
the
mechanic can observe the position of the target images from the perspective of
the
cameras. If the mechanic believes that the alignment parameters provided by
the system
are in error, no means are provided to verify that the cameras have a target
image fully
within the field of view. In addition, the mechanic cannot readily determine
whether a
target image or target image path is free of optical obstacles.
SiJIuB~~lARY OF 'TF~? INVENTION
Therefore it is as object of this imrontion to allow a mechanic to adjust the
height
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enables the mechanic to readily adjust and chap ~,e the height of the camera
bar
It is a further object of this invention to provide the mechanic with an
indication
of the relative height of the camera bar to the images on wheel targets and
thus provide
information to assist the mechanic when adjusting the height of the camera
bar.
It is yet another object of this invention to allow the mechanic to adjust the
position of the images of wheel targets with respect to the tield of view of
alignment
cameras.
Another object of this invention is to provide a display of an image in the
view of
an alignment camera so that a mechanic can readily determine whether the line
of sight
from the camera to the image is sutfiicientl~ clear
BRIEF DESCR1PTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is an illustration of a prior art wheel alignment system with a vehicle
and
vehicle lift.
Fi<~ 2 is an illustration of a wheel 2111'~Illllellt system that includes the
camera lift
system of the present invention
Figs. 3a-c are illustrations of various displays provided by the camera Lift
system
of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is an illustration of a vehicle lift and camera lift control console of
the
- present invention
' Fig. 5 is an illustration of an efevatin'T Calllera support system of the
present
invention in a first position.
Fi<~. 6 is an illustration of an elwatin~; camera support system of the
present
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mvenron rn a second position.
Fig. 7 is an illustration of an elevating camera support of the present
invention.
Fig 8 is similar to Fig. 7, illustrating the components of the elevating
camera
support.
Fig. 9 is a block dia~~ram of one ernhodiment of the present invention.
Fi'; I 0 is a block dia';ram of an alternate embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPT10N OF TI-fE /'REFERRED EMBODIMENTS
An optical wheel alignment system 10 of the prior arrt is illustrated in Fig
1. A
vehicle I 2 rests upon a vehicle lift 14 Ri<,ht side wheel tar';ets 16 and 17
are attached to
the right front and rear wheels. respectively, ofvehicle I 2 Corresponding
left side wheel
targets, not shown, are also attached to the wheels on the left side of
vehicle I 2 Camera
bar assembly 18 includes a right camera 22 for viewing the wheel targets 16
and 17 on the
wheels on the right side of vehicle i 0 and a lett camera 20 for viewing the
wheel targets
on the left side, not shown, of vehicle I 0. Cameras 20 and 22 optically view
ima<jes of
or on the wheel targets and provide optical si~nals in response thereto. An
electronic
processor such as a computer 24 receives the optical signals from cameras 20
and 22,
processes the signals, calculates ali',nment parameters and provides alignment
data display
signals for display on display 26. The displays are preferably orientated so
that the
mechanic can view the alignment parameters as adjustments are made to the
vehicle. U. S.
Patent No. 5,724,74 i discloses a wheel all<=ner system of the type just
described and is
incorporated herein by reference.
Reterrin'~ to Fi~~s. 2 and ~), a wheel ~111~~11111f'I1t SyStertl 28 including
an apparatus for
adjusting the height of an alignment camera of cite present invention is
disclosed. An
elevating camera support system 30 includes a camera bar 18 which is shown as
extending
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horizontally in this embodiment but which could be oriented in any direction,
provided the
camera or cameras are able to view both sides of the vehicle. The vertical
position of
camera bar 18 is adjustable with respect to the elevatin'; camera support
system 30. A
vehicle lift 14 supports a vehicle 12 havin~, wheel targets, not shown,
attached thereto.
5 Wheel targets are shown in Fig. 1 1 of US1'N 5,724,743. Control system 32
provides
means to manually adjust the height of vehicle lift 14 and camera bar 18. A
processor
system 34 receives signals from camera bar I 8 and provides display signals
for display on
display 3C~ DISpIitV :~( may be a CRT display. mo 1.CD, a video display, or
any other
visual display 1'r-ocessor svsten~ _s-I n~av W~ imiep~odent ot~ ur,
alternatively, associated
with the processor disclosed in U S Patent ~o ~.O75,S l 5
Referring to Fig. 5, an elevating camera support system 30 that includes
elevating
camera supports 48 and 50 is shown Camera bar 18 includes right and left
alignment
cameras ?? and 20, respectively. Elevatin'= camera support 50 Is shown In
Fi';s 7 and 8.
Vertical movement of camera bar I S is actuated by an electrical motor or
other device 56
attached to a chain or other mechanism such as a screw- or spring, not shown.
In the
preferred embodiment, the chain is attached to a mountin<, assembly 58
comprised of a
slider 64 and mount 66. Slider 64 is vertically moveable within vertical
apertures 60 and
62 formed in vertical support 54. Camera bar I 8 is secured to mount 66.
Electrical motor
56 is attached to the top of vertical support ~-1 and is activated manually by
control system
In an alternate embodiment. only one elevating camera support supports camera
bar l8. In one version of this design, the center of camera bar I 8 is
attached to mount 66.
.As shown in Fib. 4, control system >? includes vehicle lift control console
44 and
camera height control console =t6 In tl~e preaem embodiment, camera hei~~ht
control
console 46 is attached to the side of vehicle iiti control console 44. Camera
hei~,ht control
console 46 is comprised ofa camera hei~lht control switch 68, a camera hei~lht
high button
70 and a camera hei';ht lov.~ button 7~'. In the preferred embodiment,
activation of camera
height hi';h button 70 moves camera bar I 8 to a heir=ht of about 8 feet above
ground level.
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Activation of camera height low button 72 moves the camera bar 18 to a height
of about
2 feet above ground level. Camera hei~Tht control switch 68 can be manually
activated
to move the camera bar to any height from the absolute high position of Fig. 5
to the
absolute low position of Fig. 6 or to any position in between. In a first
alternate
embodiment, vehicle lift control console 44 is located near the bay doors of
the
maintenance area and camera hei~~ht control console 46 is located on the
cabinet of
computer s4. In a second alternate embodiment, camera height control console
46 is
wireless, powered by battery, and Co1111111I111Cafe1 Vla Radio Frequency (RF)
or Infrared
(IR) signals.
Referring to Fi';s. 2 and s. operation of the wheel alignment system 28 will
be
described Vehicle 1? is driven onto vehicle lift aaaen~bly 14 Wheel targets,
not shown,
are attached to each wheel oftlte vehicle New, the wechanic manually activates
vehicle
lift control 44 to move vehicle 12 to a desired heigln Tlre mechanic then
decides whether
to monitor the field of view of camera 20, camera 2?, or both alld inputs his
selection to
computer s4. The mechanic then activates camera hei<,ht control switch 68 and
camera
bar 18 moves in the vertical direction while the mechanic monitors the display
on display
36. In the present embodiment, display .s(> provides a view of the tield of
view of both
right camera 20 and left camera 22. As the camera hei«ht approaches the height
of the
wheel targets, the images on the wheel tar«ets will begin to appear on display
36 By
observing the position of the ima~,es on the display, the mechanic can
determine whether
a target is within the field of view of the camera T'he mechanic continues to
adjust the
camera hei~,ht so that the tar~,et ima«es are conrpletelv within the field of
view of the
camera and do not overlap. if the IlleCharlli' Uclieves that turtlrer raisin';
or lowering of the
vehicle may be required, the target ima';e nrav be positioned low (or high) in
the field of
view of the camera.
At times, the mechanic may receive ali~,nment data that he may believe to be
in
error. Further, the mechanic may not know the reason for the error The
mechanic may
check the integrity of the wheel targets and camera by viewing display 36. The
display
allows the mechanic to identity blocka~~~s in tl~e camera optical path and
detect dirt
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accumulation on the surfaces of the targets. A display that does not show a
complete and
clear image of the targets may indicate that the camera height is incorrect,
as shown in
Figs. 3(b) and 3(c), or that there is a problem with the camera assembly or a
wheel target.
A display showing tar'=et images within the field of view of the cameras is
illustrated in
Fig.3(a).
In another embodiment of the present invention, one set of controls is used to
operate the vehicle lift and the camera lift, as shown in Fi~J. 10 In this
embodiment, a
display is not needed because the hei~,ht oftl~e camera bar assembly with
respect to the
vehicle targets remains tixed However. a eiisplay may be provided to initially
verify that
the vehicle targets are within the tiald of viw oi~the cameras.
In yet another embodiment, a limited number of preferred heights for the
vehicle
lift are initially designated and marked. The Held of view display is used to
designate
correspondin'; camera lift heights, which are also marked Thereatter, the
vehicle lift and
camera lift are raised directly to the preferred h~i«lus using the vehicle
lift control and
camera lift control In this embocjim~m. atur tlm vehicle and vamera lift
heights have been
marked, the mechanic does not have to rely upon the display to ensure that the
target
images are within the field of view of the cameras. Rather, the vehicle and
camera lifts are
raised to discrete, predetermined positions
In still another embodiment. the canmra bar is mechanically attached to the
vehicle
lift.
In a further embodiment. the camera lift has a plurality of opto-electric
emitters/sensors, 74, 76, and 78, attached thereto, as shown in Fig. 1 1.
Vehicle lifrt 14 has
a mirror 80 attach thereto. Each opto-electric emitter emits a ii<,ht beam in
the horizontal
direction Mirror 80 reflects at most one opto-electric li!_ht beam back to the
camera lift
to a correspondin~~ opto-electric senwr ~l~l~e opto-electric sensor that
receives the li;ht
beam sends a signal to camera liti control device S? Camera lift control
device 82 may
be a microcomputer or may operate under hardware control .As illustrated in
Fig. l?, if
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b
opto-electric sensor 76 receives a light beam, control device 82 does not
adjust the height
of the camera bar. if opto-electric sensor 74 receives a light beam, control
device 82
provides a signal to the camera lift assembly s0 to raise the height of the
camera bar. If
opto-electric sensor 78 receives a li'~ht beam, control device 82 provides a
signal to the
camera lift assembly 30 to lower the height of the camera bar.
An alternative to the previous embodiment includes a pair of linear
transducers 84
and 86, as shown in Fig. 1 >. Linear transducer S6 provides to control device
82 a sip nal
corresponding to the vertical position ufvelW le lift I=l and linear
transducer S~I provides
to control device 82 a signal curreshondin~~ to tire veoical position of the
camera bar 18.
An predetermined offset distance between tire vehicle lit2 and the camera bar
is input into
control device 82. As the vertical position ofwehicle litt 14 is adjusted,
linear transducer
provides a corresponding signal to control device 8~ Control device 82
activates camera
lift assembly 30 to lower or raise camera bar 18 accordin';ly. Linear
transducer 84
I S provides a signal corresponding to the adjusted position of the camera bar
18 to the
control device 82. Control device 82 deactivates camera lift assembly s0 when
the
vertical distance between the vehicle litt and camera bar reaches the
predetermined offset
distance.
.-~lli~ough the present invemiun ha, been described with reference to
preferred
embodiments. those skilled in the art will re~u~~ni~e that changes may be made
in form and
detail without departing trom the spirit and scope of the invention.
2~
