Vehicle Wheel Alignment Using Side-to-Side Reference Pods
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wheel alignment systems are hindered by large, heavy, and expensive equipment due to the need for fixed reference beams or calibration cameras, which obstruct shop operations and limit flexible placement, leading to measurement inaccuracies and restricted usage locations.
Innovation Solution
A side-to-side reference system comprising active and passive reference pods with image sensors and targets allows for flexible placement, enabling the use of streamlined alignment heads by computing spatial relationships between pods and targets using image data, thereby correlating measurements across vehicle sides without the need for fixed attachments to alignment heads or cameras.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional aligners use toe gauges attached to alignment heads with booms to measure wheel alignment, then alignment measurements can be taken, but the equipment becomes large, heavy, and expensive, and the toe gauges can be obstructed by the vehicle body
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the reference function from the alignment head by introducing a separate reference target mounted on the vehicle body. The alignment head only needs to capture images of this external reference target, eliminating the need for complex internal reference mechanisms and booms within the alignment head structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a reference target as an intermediary element mounted on the vehicle body. This reference target serves as a mediator between the alignment camera and the wheel, allowing the camera to measure wheel alignment by capturing the reference target's position and orientation rather than requiring direct mechanical reference within the alignment head.
2Stability of the object's composition
If visual aligners use a solid beam mounted to a fixed structure to hold alignment cameras, then the relative position of cameras can be maintained fixedly, but the large beam gets in the way of shop operations and results in a system that is large, heavy, and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the reference function from a large fixed beam structure and relocates it to a compact reference target mounted on the vehicle body. This eliminates the need for a large stationary beam while maintaining the ability to establish fixed relative positions between cameras through the reference target's known geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy of the reference function through a reference target with known geometric characteristics. Instead of using a physical beam structure, the reference target provides the necessary geometric reference information through its defined shape and feature positions, which can be captured and processed by the alignment cameras.
3Measurement precision
If self-calibrating aligners use a calibration camera and calibration target to determine relative positions, then alignment measurements can be precisely determined, but the system requires complex setup and the calibration camera or target must be attached to each alignment camera, restricting acceptable locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the reference target universal by mounting it on the vehicle body rather than attaching it to specific alignment cameras. This single reference target can be viewed by multiple alignment cameras positioned at different locations, making the system adaptable to various camera placements while maintaining precise relative position determination through the known reference target geometry.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~4A
AI summary
A wheel alignment system includes a side-to-side reference including an active reference pod and a passive reference pod disposed on opposite sides of the vehicle. The active reference pod includes a reference image sensor fixedly attached to a reference target, for mounting on a first side of the vehicle such that the reference image sensor produces image data including a perspective representation of the passive reference pod disposed on a second/opposite side of the vehicle. In operation, alignment cameras on the opposite sides of the vehicle capture perspective representations of targets mounted to vehicle wheels and of targets of the active and passive reference pods. A computer processes the image data to compute an alignment measurement of the vehicle based on a spatial relationship between the active reference pod and the passive reference pod determined according to the image data produced by the reference image sensor.