Vehicle Glazing Wavefront Analysis for Optical Defect Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for measuring the optical quality of vehicle glazings, particularly those with opaque elements, lack precision in identifying and quantifying optical defects that degrade image quality for image-acquiring devices, especially in regions near these elements.
Innovation Solution
A method using a measuring device with an emitter and wavefront analyzer to emit a light beam, analyze the wavefront, and generate a wavefront-error map to identify and quantify optical defects such as aberrations, allowing precise measurement of a given region of the glazing, including those delineated by opaque elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If existing measurement methods are used to measure optical quality of glazings with opaque elements, then measurement can be performed, but measurement precision is insufficient to accurately identify and quantify optical defects near opaque elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the measurement process into distinct segments: first measuring a reference wavefront without the glazing, then measuring the actual wavefront through the glazing, and finally computing the difference to obtain the optical defect map. This segmentation allows precise isolation and quantification of defects near opaque elements by comparing against a known reference state.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a wavefront analyzer as an intermediary device that measures the wavefront of light passing through the glazing. This intermediary measurement tool enables indirect detection of optical defects by analyzing wavefront distortions, providing precise measurement capability for defects that are difficult to detect directly near opaque elements.
2Reliability
If image-acquiring devices are placed behind inclined glazings with opaque elements, then device protection and aesthetic requirements are met, but optical quality deteriorates causing image distortion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by measuring and mapping optical defects of the glazing before the image-acquiring device is installed or before image capture occurs. The optical defect map is computed in advance, allowing for pre-compensation or selection of optimal device positioning to minimize the impact of opaque elements on image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by using the measured wavefront information to characterize and quantify optical defects. This feedback loop allows the system to understand the specific nature and location of defects introduced by opaque elements, enabling compensation strategies or corrective measures to maintain image quality reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise identification and quantification of optical defects, ensuring high-quality images for advanced driver-assistance systems by correcting image distortions introduced by the glazing, suitable for various vehicle types including autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
a step of emitting, with the emitter, a beam of light rays in the direction of said given region
Implementation Method 2
the presence of these opaque elements, which are generally enamels, on the surface of glazings, leads to a decrease in the optical quality of the glazing in the region of the glazing bordering the opaque elements... variations in refractive index
Data Source
AI summary
A method for measuring the optical quality of a given region of a glazing of a road or rail vehicle, the region being intended to be positioned in the optical path of an image-acquiring device, the measuring method being implemented by a measuring device including an emitter and a wavefront analyzer, the measuring method including emitting, with the emitter, a beam of light rays in the direction of the given region, analyzing, with the wavefront analyzer, the wavefront of the light rays transmitted by the given region, including generating a wavefront-error map, and determining, on the basis of the wavefront-error map, at least one optical-defect map, of any optical defects present in the region of the glazing.