TIRE TYPE DETERMINATION METHOD AND VEHICLE INSPECTION METHOD AND SYSTEM USING THE SAME

• US 20090244284A1
• Filed: 03/03/2009
• Published: 10/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyu Industries, Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Suita, Kazutsugu, Azumaya, Rikio, Kimura, Kazufumi
• Granted Patent: US 8,284,251 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/02 Tyres

Abstract

In a tire type determination method, a surface image of a tread portion of a tire mounted on a vehicle is captured by a camera fixed at a predetermined position in a tilted hanger conveyor line, which is located downstream in a vehicle-carrying direction with respect to a position at which the tire of the vehicle is lifted from the ground and starts moving diagonally upward. Further, image information is extracted from the surface image of the tread portion, and a tire type is determined by checking the image information against registered information. A vehicle inspection system includes a tire type determination portion and a vehicle type information obtaining portion so as to determine the tire type using the method. A conformance determination portion determines whether the tire type determined by the tire type determination portion conforms to a specified tire type searched based on the vehicle type information.

Claims

1. A tire type determination method, comprising:

capturing an image of a surface of a tread portion of a tire mounted on a vehicle by a camera that is disposed and fixed at a predetermined position in a tilted hanger conveyor line on which, when the vehicle is carried, the vehicle is hung in a state where a downstream end portion of the vehicle in a carrying direction of the vehicle is tilted up, the predetermined position being located downstream in the carrying direction of the vehicle with respect to a position at which the tire of the vehicle is lifted from the ground and starts moving diagonally upward;

extracting image information for identifying a type of the tire from the image of the surface of the tread portion of the tire captured; and

determining the type of the tire by checking the image information against registered information for identifying the type of the tire.

2. The tire type determination method according to claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a predetermined portion of the vehicle that is being carried on a conveyor line including the tilted hanger conveyor line; and

calculating an image capture time based on a time at which the predetermined portion of the vehicle is detected, a distance between the predetermined portion of the vehicle and a center of a downstream wheel in the carrying direction of the vehicle, a conveyor speed of the conveyor line, a wheel base length, and a distance between the camera and the surface of the tread portion of the tire when the surface of the tread portion of the tire is opposed to the camera, wherein

the camera captures the image of the surface of the tire at the calculated image capture time.

3. The tire type determination method according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined portion of the vehicle is the downstream end portion of the vehicle in the carrying direction of the vehicle.

4. A vehicle inspection method, comprising:

capturing an image of a surface of a tread portion of a tire mounted on a vehicle by a camera that is disposed and fixed at a predetermined position in a tilted hanger conveyor line on which, when the vehicle is carried, the vehicle is hung in a state where a downstream end portion of the vehicle in a carrying direction of the vehicle is tilted up, the predetermined position being located downstream in the carrying direction of the vehicle with respect to a position at which the tire of the vehicle is lifted from the ground and starts moving diagonally upward;

extracting image information for identifying a type of the tire from the image of the surface of the tread portion of the tire captured;

determining the type of the tire by checking the image information against registered information for identifying the type of the tire; and

determining whether the determined type of the tire conforms to a specified type of the tire of the vehicle by checking the determined type of the tire against the specified type of the tire obtained based on vehicle type information corresponding to the vehicle that is being carried on the conveyor line including the tilted hanger conveyor line.

5. The vehicle inspection method according to claim 4, further comprising:

detecting a predetermined portion of the vehicle that is being carried on the conveyor line including the tilted hanger conveyor line; and

calculating an image capture time based on a time at which the predetermined portion of the vehicle is detected, a distance between the predetermined portion of the vehicle and a center of a downstream wheel in the carrying direction of the vehicle, a conveyor speed of the conveyor line, a wheel base length, and a distance between the camera and the surface of the tread portion of the tire when the surface of the tread portion of the tire is opposed to the camera, wherein

the camera captures the image of the surface of the tire at the calculated image capture time.

6. The vehicle inspection method according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined portion of the vehicle is the downstream end portion of the vehicle in the carrying direction of the vehicle.

7. A vehicle inspection system, comprising:

a camera that is disposed and fixed at a predetermined position in a tilted hanger conveyor line on which, when the vehicle is carried, the vehicle is hung in a state where a downstream end portion of the vehicle in a carrying direction of the vehicle is tilted up, and that captures an image of a surface of a tread portion of a tire mounted on a vehicle, the predetermined position being located downstream in the carrying direction of the vehicle with respect to a position at which the tire of the vehicle is lifted from the ground and starts moving diagonally upward;

an extraction portion that extracts image information for identifying a type of the tire from the image of the surface of the tread portion of the tire captured by the camera;

a determination portion that determines the type of the tire by checking the image information against registered information for identifying the type of the tire;

a vehicle type information obtaining portion that obtains vehicle type information corresponding to the vehicle that is being carried on the conveyor line including the tilted hanger conveyor line; and

a conformance determination portion that searches the registered information stored in a memory device for a specified type of the tire of the vehicle based on the vehicle type information obtained by the vehicle type information obtaining portion, and determines whether the type of the tire determined by the tire type determination portion conforms to the specified type of the tire of the vehicle by checking the determined type of the tire against the specified type of the tire.

8. The vehicle inspection system according to claim 7, further comprising:

a vehicle detection portion that detects a predetermined portion of the vehicle that is being carried on a conveyor line including the tilted hanger conveyor line; and

a calculation portion that calculates an image capture time based on a time at which the predetermined portion of the vehicle is detected, a distance between the predetermined portion of the vehicle and a center of a downstream wheel in the carrying direction of the vehicle, a conveyor speed of the conveyor line, a wheel base length, and a distance between the camera and the surface of the tread portion of the tire when the surface of the tread portion of the tire is opposed to the camera, wherein

the camera captures the image of the surface of the tire at the calculated image capture time.

9. The vehicle inspection system according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined portion of the vehicle is the downstream end portion of the vehicle in the carrying direction of the vehicle.

10. The vehicle inspection system according to claim 7, wherein the camera is disposed at a position that corresponds to each of a left side and a right side of the vehicle.

11. The vehicle inspection system according to claim 7, further comprising a lighting device that provides lighting of the surface of the tread portion of the tire.