OPTICAL DEVICE AND METHOD FOR INSPECTING TIRES

• US 20140232852A1
• Filed: 06/18/2012
• Published: 08/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Beissbarth Automotive Testing Solutions GmbH
• Original Assignee: Beissbarth GmbH (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Inventors: Nobis, Guenter, Abraham, Steffen, Wendt, Axel, Klar, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 10,760,898 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/128
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/22 for measuring depth
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/2522 the position of the object changing and being recorded
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/95 characterised by the material or shape of the object to be examined G01N21/89 - G01N21/91, G01N21/94 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0008 checking presence/absence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/40 Analysis of texture depth or shape recovery from texture G06T7/529

Abstract

A method for tire inspection which includes taking at least one image of at least one first area of a tread of a tire that is to be inspected; determining the profile depth of a second area of the tread of the tire, the second area being included in the first area; and displaying the profile depth of the at least one image of the at least one first area and the position of the second area in the first area. The method may additionally include automatically analyzing the images taken of the tread, so as to arrive at statements on the condition of the tread.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A method for inspecting tires, the method comprising:

taking at least one image of at least one first area of a tread of a tire that is to be inspected;

determining a profile depth of a second area of the tread of the tire, the second area being included in the first area; and

displaying the profile depth of the at least one image of the at least one first area and of the position of the second area in the first area.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the image is a 2D gray-scale value image or a 2D color image.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

illuminating at least the second area of the tread of the tire in a textured manner.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining and displaying a minimum profile depth of the second area of the tread.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

taking an image sequence having a plurality of images of different areas of the tread of the tire;

composing an overview image of a greater area of the tread of the tire from the images of the image sequence; and

displaying the overview image.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

analyzing the images of the image sequence automatically, so as to arrive at statements on the condition of the tread.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

taking into account the previously determined profile depth in the analysis and/or identifying texture features of the tread; and

comparing them with previously stored texture features and/or comparing the texture features of the tires of a vehicle to one another.

16. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

identifying characteristic features of the tread; and

composing the images of the image sequence to form an overview image with the aid of the characteristic features.

19. A device for inspecting tires, comprising:

at least one camera to take an image of at least one area of the tread of a tire that is to be inspected;

an optical projection device to illuminate at least one second area of the tread of the tire that is to be inspected, the second area being included in the first area;

an evaluation device to determine the profile depth in the second area of the tread of the tire from the image taken by the camera; and

a display device to display the profile depth determined by the evaluation device, the image of the at least one first area of the tread and the position of the second area within the first area of the tire.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the evaluation device is configured to analyze the image taken, so as to arrive at statements on the condition of the tread.