Image sensing wheel alignment system
First Claim
1. An improved image sensing wheel alignment system for calculating vehicle wheel alignments comprising:
- a detector array for receiving an input image containing vehicle wheel alignment information, said detector array having image detecting elements;
an image sensor controller for controlling the detector array to receive the input image during an acquisition period, said image sensor controller examining signals from the image detecting elements individually during the acquisition period, and further including circuitry for reading out an output image from the image detecting elements, said output image containing wheel alignment information for use in calculating vehicle wheel alignments, said output image including outputs from image detecting elements obtained at two different exposure levels.
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Abstract
An improved image sensing wheel alignment system for calculating vehicle wheel alignments having a detector array for receiving an input image containing vehicle wheel alignment information. An image sensor controller controls the detector array to receive the input image during an acquisition period, the image sensor controller examining signals from the image detecting elements individually at a plurality of times during the acquisition period to determine exposure levels for image detecting elements. An output image from the image detecting elements at the end of the acquisition period contains wheel alignment information for use in calculating vehicle wheel alignments.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. An improved image sensing wheel alignment system for calculating vehicle wheel alignments comprising:
- a detector array for receiving an input image containing vehicle wheel alignment information, said detector array having image detecting elements;
an image sensor controller for controlling the detector array to receive the input image during an acquisition period, said image sensor controller examining signals from the image detecting elements individually during the acquisition period, and further including circuitry for reading out an output image from the image detecting elements, said output image containing wheel alignment information for use in calculating vehicle wheel alignments, said output image including outputs from image detecting elements obtained at two different exposure levels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
- a detector array for receiving an input image containing vehicle wheel alignment information, said detector array having image detecting elements;
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25. An image sensing wheel alignment system comprising:
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an imager having a sensitivity that extends from below 10 Lux to at least 10,000 Lux;
an ambient light source for illuminating a scene containing wheel alignment information;
said imager receiving information from said scene as illuminated by the ambient light source;
logic for analyzing the output of the imager to extract wheel alignment information.
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26. An image sensing wheel alignment system comprising:
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an image detector for sensing an input image of a scene containing vehicle wheel alignment information, said image detector having a plurality of pixels disposed in an array, each pixel having at least first and second photo detectors, the first photo detector for at least some of the pixels having a first sensitivity to light and the second photo detector for at least some of the pixels having a second sensitivity to light;
logic responsive to the output levels of said photo detectors to select, for each pixel, an optimal photo detector output and to extract vehicle wheel alignment information from measured values of the selected outputs. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of operating an image sensing wheel alignment system comprising:
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obtaining multiple input images of a scene containing wheel alignment information taken at different exposure levels and using different angles of illumination, at least some of the input images being taken at the same exposure levels but different angles of illumination;
said input images falling on a detector array so as to create corresponding output images for each input image;
comparing at least some of the output images to identify specularities in the scene. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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33. A method of operating an image sensing wheel alignment system comprising:
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sensing an input image of a scene containing vehicle wheel alignment information with an image detector having a plurality of pixels disposed in an array, each pixel having at least first and second photo detectors, the first photo detector for at least some of the pixels having a first sensitivity to light and the second photo detector for at least some of the pixels having a second sensitivity to light;
selecting, for at least one pixel, an optimal photo detector output; and
extracting vehicle wheel alignment information from measured values of the selected outputs.
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34. A method of operating an image sensing wheel alignment system comprising:
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receiving an image of a scene containing wheel alignment information;
identifying a region of interest in said image;
processing the region of interest in the image without further processing of the remainder of the image; and
determining wheel alignment angles from the processed image of the region of interest.
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35. A method of operating an image sensing wheel alignment system comprising:
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receiving an output image of a scene containing wheel alignment information from an imager;
identifying a region of interest in said image;
controlling subsequent output images to reduce extraneous information, said extraneous information not including said wheel alignment information; and
determining wheel alignment angles from the processed image of the region of interest.
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Specification