LASER MEASUREMENT OF A VEHICLE FRAME

• US 20110162221A1
• Filed: 11/02/2010
• Published: 07/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infinity Laser Measuring LLC.
• Original Assignee: Infinity Laser Measuring LLC.
• Inventors: Brunk, Matt J., Schulz, Mark W., Knoke, Robin L., Roth, William M., MacKlem, Lee G., Darst, Daniel, Krause, Eric J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,381,409 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 33/228
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/03 by measuring coordinates of points
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/24 for measuring contours or curvatures
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/27 for testing the alignment of axes means for centering or aligning a light guide within a ferrule G02B6/3834

Abstract

A laser measurement system operates to measure portions of a vehicle, such as a vehicle frame. The measurements are used, for example, to determine if the portions of the vehicle are bent or damaged. The measurement system includes a laser scanner and at least one target assembly that can be connected to a point of the vehicle. The laser scanner emits a laser beam that is detected by the target. Time and laser position information detected by the target are used to determine the location of the target, as well as the location of the point of the vehicle. The location of the point is then compared to an original location of the point to determine if damage has occurred.

Claims

1. A scanner device of a vehicle laser measurement system, the scanner device comprising:

at least one rotating support;

a motor arranged and configured to rotate the at least one rotating support;

a laser device coupled to the at least one rotating support; and

an optics assembly coupled to the at least one rotating support and positioned to receive a laser beam from the laser device, the optics assembly including at least one rhombic prism arranged and configured to split a laser beam from the laser device into at least two laser beams.

2. The scanner device of claim 1, wherein the optics assembly comprises two axially aligned rhombic prisms.

3. The scanner device of claim 1, wherein one of the at least one rhombic prisms comprises two or more parts.

4. The scanner device of claim 1, wherein the laser device generates a green laser beam.

5. The scanner device of claim 1, wherein the laser device generates an ultraviolet laser beam.

6. The scanner device of claim 1, further comprising a processor and a communication device, wherein the communication device is operable to directly and wirelessly communicate digital data with a target device.

7. The scanner device of claim 6, wherein the processor is operable to process data received directly from the target device.

8. A laser measurement system comprising:

a scanner device including a laser device that generates a laser beam; and

a target including a detector that detects when the laser beam is directed at the target, and further including a three dimensional position indicator system that visually indicates the relative position of a point on a vehicle frame with respect to a desired position in each of the three dimensions.

9. The laser measurement system of claim 8, wherein the three dimensional position indicator system includes at least three position indicators including a height dimension indicator, a width dimension indicator, and a length dimension indicator.

10. The laser measurement system of claim 9, wherein each position indicator is configured to generate at least three outputs, each output indicative of a distance between the point on the vehicle frame and the desired position in one of the three dimensions.

11. The laser measurement system of claim 8, further comprising a stem including a connector and a resistive element, the resistive element having a resistance that is detectable by the target, the resistance being associated with a length of the stem.

12. A method of operating a laser measurement system, the method comprising:

detecting a laser beam emitted from a rotating scanner device with a target device, the target device being associated with a position of a part of a vehicle; and

wirelessly transmitting data from the target device to the scanner device after detecting the laser beam.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein detecting a laser beam comprises detecting at least two laser beams, and further comprising storing a time value and a position value in memory for each detected laser beam.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising automatically turning on the target device upon connection of a stem to the target device.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising automatically detecting with the target device a resistance associated with the stem, and identifying a length of the stem based on the detected resistance.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein identifying a length of the stem comprises retrieving data from a lookup table stored in memory of the target device.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising processing the data received from the target device with the scanner device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein processing further comprises computing a three-dimensional coordinate for the position with the scanner device.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving data from the scanner device with the target device; and

for each of three dimensions, generating with the target device a visual indication of whether the position is proper for that dimension after receiving the data from the scanner device.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

detecting movement of the position; and

generating with the target device a different visual indication if movement is in a wrong direction.

21. A method of authorizing a repair, the method comprising:

using a laser measurement system to identify at least one point of a vehicle frame that is not properly positioned;

generating a report identifying a repair that is needed to return the point of the vehicle frame to a correct position;

electronically sending the report to an authorizer across a network in an authorization request; and

receiving from the authorizer a response to the authorization request, the response authorizing the repair.

22. A method of operating a laser measurement system, the method comprising:

receiving with a computing device an input from an operator of the laser measurement system indicating that the operator is having a difficulty with the laser measurement system; and

receiving information with the computing device from a remote assistant to assist the operator to overcome the difficulty.