Non-contact vehicle measurement system
First Claim
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1. A vehicle measurement system, comprising:
- a pair of sensor units disposed on opposite lateral sides of a vehicle inspection lane through which a moving vehicle passes;
wherein each sensor unit is configured to acquire a plurality of distance measurements along a respective measurement axis to a surface of a rolling wheel assembly on an associated side of a vehicle moving through said vehicle inspection lane between said sensor units;
wherein each of said sensor units is operatively coupled to convey said plurality of distance measurements to a processing system configured with software instructions to determine, from said acquired plurality of distance measurements and each of said respective measurement axis, a plurality of separation distances between wheel assemblies on opposite ends of an axle of said moving vehicle; and
wherein said processing system is further configured to generate a representation of total toe for said axle from said plurality of determined separation distances between said wheel assemblies on opposite ends of said axle.
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Abstract
A vehicle measurement station utilizing one or more displacement sensors disposed on each opposite side of an inspection region of a vehicle inspection lane to acquire displacement measurement data along associated measurement axes. At least a portion of the displacement measurement data is associated with the outermost wheel assemblies on an axle of a moving vehicle passing through the inspection region, and utilized to determine one or more vehicle characteristics, such as an axle total toe condition.
52 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A vehicle measurement system, comprising:
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a pair of sensor units disposed on opposite lateral sides of a vehicle inspection lane through which a moving vehicle passes; wherein each sensor unit is configured to acquire a plurality of distance measurements along a respective measurement axis to a surface of a rolling wheel assembly on an associated side of a vehicle moving through said vehicle inspection lane between said sensor units; wherein each of said sensor units is operatively coupled to convey said plurality of distance measurements to a processing system configured with software instructions to determine, from said acquired plurality of distance measurements and each of said respective measurement axis, a plurality of separation distances between wheel assemblies on opposite ends of an axle of said moving vehicle; and wherein said processing system is further configured to generate a representation of total toe for said axle from said plurality of determined separation distances between said wheel assemblies on opposite ends of said axle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A vehicle measurement system, comprising:
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a pair of sensor units disposed in proximity to a vehicle inspection lane through which a moving vehicle passes, with one sensor unit of said pair on each opposite lateral side of said vehicle inspection lane; at least one 2D displacement sensor mounted within each sensor unit, said at least one 2D displacement sensor having a plurality of measurement axes oriented towards said vehicle inspection lane; wherein each 2D displacement sensor is configured to acquire a plurality of distance measurements associated with a plurality of discrete surface points on the moving vehicle intersecting said associated plurality of measurement axes as the vehicle moves through said vehicle inspection lane; and wherein each of said 2D displacement sensors is operatively coupled to convey said plurality of distance measurements to a processing system configured with software instructions to determine at least one vehicle characteristics from said conveyed distance measurements. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for assessing a condition associated with an axle of a moving vehicle, the system comprising:
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a stationary apparatus for generating, while the vehicle is moving, output signals indicative of distances to first identified points on the outer surfaces of each outermost vehicle wheel assembly on an axle, and for generating, while the vehicle is moving, output signals indicative of distances to second identified points on the outer surfaces of said outermost vehicle wheel assemblies; and a control system configured to receive the output signals from the apparatus and to output axle condition data based on said pair of first identified points and said pair of second identified points. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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Specification