Method and apparatus for vehicle service system with imaging components
First Claim
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1. An improved vehicle wheel balancer system having a central processing unit and configured with a rotating support structure to support a vehicle wheel assembly during a vehicle wheel balancing procedure, the improvement comprising:
- an imaging sensor assembly disposed to acquire at least one optical image of a three-dimensional surface region of the vehicle wheel rim, said optical image consisting of a two dimensional array of pixel elements representing said three-dimensional surface region; and
wherein the central processing unit is configured to receive said acquired optical images from said imaging sensor assembly, and to utilize during a wheel balancing procedure, at least one distance measurement identified from said acquired optical image and which is associated with said imaged portion of said surface region of the vehicle wheel rim.
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Abstract
An improved vehicle wheel service system for servicing a vehicle wheel assembly, configured with one or more imaging sensors to accurately measure distances, dimensions, and characteristics of features associated with a vehicle wheel assembly undergoing a service.
67 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An improved vehicle wheel balancer system having a central processing unit and configured with a rotating support structure to support a vehicle wheel assembly during a vehicle wheel balancing procedure, the improvement comprising:
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an imaging sensor assembly disposed to acquire at least one optical image of a three-dimensional surface region of the vehicle wheel rim, said optical image consisting of a two dimensional array of pixel elements representing said three-dimensional surface region; and wherein the central processing unit is configured to receive said acquired optical images from said imaging sensor assembly, and to utilize during a wheel balancing procedure, at least one distance measurement identified from said acquired optical image and which is associated with said imaged portion of said surface region of the vehicle wheel rim. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 17)
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12. An improved wheel parameter measurement apparatus for a dynamic wheel balancer having a spindle shaft for mounting a vehicle wheel assembly consisting of at least a vehicle wheel rim for rotation thereon, the improvement comprising:
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an optical energy sensing means for receiving reflected optical energy from an area of the vehicle wheel rim on the spindle, and for generating a two-dimensional image of said detected optical energy, said two-dimensional image composed of a plurality of image pixels; and a processing means for receiving said images generated by said optical energy sensing means to extract data relating to at least one feature of the wheel rim. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 18)
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16. A method for characterizing at least one feature of a vehicle wheel assembly consisting of at least a vehicle wheel rim where the vehicle wheel assembly is mounted for rotational movement about an axis on a vehicle wheel balancer system comprising the steps of:
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detecting reflected optical energy from a three-dimensional area of the vehicle wheel rim; generating a two-dimensional image of said three-dimensional area of the vehicle wheel rim from said detected optical energy, said two-dimensional image composed of a plurality of image pixels; processing said generated image to extract data associated with at least one feature of the vehicle wheel rim; and utilizing said extracted data during a wheel imbalance service procedure.
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Specification