CA2294871A1 - Apparatus and method for adjusting wheel alignment camera height - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus (30) and method for adjusting the height of wheel alignment cameras (20, 22) includes elevating camera supports for supporting the wheel alignment cameras (20, 22) and adjusting the vertical position of the cameras (20, 22). The wheel alignment cameras (20, 22) provide signals that correspond to the field of view to a processor (34) which provides display signals to a display (36). A camera height control console provides for manual adjusment of camera height.

Description

CA~02294871 2000-O1-OS " "
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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") pM~~iUED SHEtT
05/11 '99 VEN 22;31 [N° TX/RX 5987]

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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 AMENDE(5 SHE
05/11 '99 VEN 22:31 [N° TX/RX 5987]

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 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 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 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.

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 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 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~

Claims (5)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. Claim 1. An apparatus for adjusting the height of a wheel alignment camera for viewing wheel alignment targets attached to a vehicle and providing field-of view signals thereof comprising:
   at least one elevating camera support for supporting said camera;
   a drive system associated with said elevating camera support for adjusting the height of said camera;
   a microprocessor for receiving said field-of-view signals and providing display signals therefrom;
   a display for receiving said display signals and providing to an operator a display of said field-of view of said wheel alignment camera; and a control console positioned relative to said display and in communication with said drive system for enabling the operator to selectively and manually activate said drive system for adjusting the height of the camera relative to said wheel alignment targets based on said field-of view.
2. Claim 2. An apparatus for manually adjusting the height of a wheel alignment camera, comprising:
   elevating camera supports for supporting said camera;
   a drive system associated with said elevating camera supports for adjusting the height of said camera;
   a control console in communication with said drive system for providing a display to an operator indicative of the height of the camera and having manual controls operational for selectively activating said drive system for adjusting the height of said wheel alignment camera.
3. Claim 3. An apparatus for receiving field-of view signals provided by a wheel alignment camera, comprising:
   a microprocessor for receiving said field-of vices signals and providing display signals therefrom;
   a display for receiving said display signals and providing a display that indicates to an operator viewing said display the quality of the field-of view of said wheel alignment camera.
4. Claim 4. A method for adjusting the vertical position of a wheel alignment camera having a field-of view observable on a display and where said wheel alignment camera is supported by at least one camera elevating support movable by a drive system, said method comprising the steps of:
   observing said field of view on a display for ascertaining whether said field-of view of said wheel alignment camera includes a substantial portion of a wheel target;
   operating manual controls for actuating said drive system for lowering said wheel alignment camera if said wheel target is within the lower region only of said field of view and raising said wheel alignment camera if said wheel target is within the upper region only of said field of view.
5. Claim 5. A method for adjusting the vertical position relative to wheel targets of a wheel alignment camera supported by a camera boom, comprising the steps of:
   developing a display signal indicative of said relative vertical position and providing said display signal to a display device;
   providing said display signal to a display for providing a visual indication of said relative vertical position;
   viewing said visual indication and responsively activating manual controls for adjusting the vertical position of said wheel alignment camera.