HEADLAMP AIMING TOOL AND METHOD
First Claim
1. A tool for assisting in aiming vehicle headlamps, comprising(a) a linear member;
- (b) a first leg connected with one end of said linear member;
(c) a second leg connected with said linear member for movement along a length thereof;
(d) a locking device connected with said second leg for locking said second leg in a selected position on said linear member in spaced relation from said first leg, whereby said tool can be used to measure the height of a pair of vehicle headlamps relative to a support surface and the distance between the vehicle headlamps.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A headlamp aiming tool includes a linear member and four legs, the first of which is connected with one end of the member and the second, third and fourth of which are adjustable relative to the linear member. The first and second legs of the tool are used to measure the distance between the headlamps of a vehicle and the height of the headlamps relative to the ground or floor. The tool may also be mounted on the vehicle via the first and second legs and a fastener connected with the third leg arranged between first and second legs. Lastly, the tool includes a laser device connected with the fourth leg which is also between the first and second legs. The laser device can be aligned with a centerline of the vehicle to direct a laser beam against a screen in front of the vehicle to indicate the vehicle centerline on the screen. The headlamp light and spacing measurements are used to provide headlamp center points on the screen and to determine the horizontal and vertical offset of the low beam light from each headlamp. The offset is used to adjust the headlamps so that they are properly aimed.
5 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A tool for assisting in aiming vehicle headlamps, comprising
(a) a linear member; -
(b) a first leg connected with one end of said linear member; (c) a second leg connected with said linear member for movement along a length thereof; (d) a locking device connected with said second leg for locking said second leg in a selected position on said linear member in spaced relation from said first leg, whereby said tool can be used to measure the height of a pair of vehicle headlamps relative to a support surface and the distance between the vehicle headlamps. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for aiming headlamps of a vehicle relative to an optimum position on a screen in front of the vehicle, comprising the steps of
(a) indicating a vehicle centerline on the screen; -
(b) indicating the center position of each vehicle headlamp relative to the vehicle centerline on the screen; (c) ascertaining an optimal beam offset for each headlamp and transferring an optimal offset point from each optimal beam offset to the screen relative to each headlamp center position, respectively; (d) energizing the vehicle headlamps and determining an area of highest intensity for each headlamp on the screen; and (e) adjusting each of the vehicle headlamps to direct the area of highest intensity for each headlamp onto the optimal offset point for each headlamp beam, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification