Method for contactlessly and dynamically detecting the profile of a solid body

• US 7,602,506 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2005
• Issued: 10/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gutehoffnungshütte Radsatz GmbH
• Original Assignee: Gutehoffnungshütte Radsatz GmbH
• Inventors: Hoffmann, Manfred, Walter, Michael J., Hoffmann, Dieter, Brinkmann, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Chowdhury; Tarifur
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pajoohi; Tara S
• Application Number:
  US11/256,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20060232787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,468 Days
• Field of Search: 356601-602
• US Class Current: 356/602
• CPC Class Codes: B61K 9/12 Measuring or surveying wheel-rims measuring techniques G01
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/2522 the position of the object changing and being recorded

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for contactlessly and dynamically detecting the profile of a solid body. At least one light beam is generated by a laser device and expanded to form a linear light band projected onto the moving surface of the solid body. Light reflected from the surface of the solid body is focused in an imaging device whose optical axis is at a fixed triangulation angle to the direction of projection of the laser device and which is arranged at a fixed based distance from the laser device. The reflected light is detected by a planar light receiving element at a frequency that is high by comparison with a speed of movement (v) of the solid body after which the measured values of the profile are obtained as a function of the triangulation angle and the base distance.

Claims

1. A method for contactlessly and dynamically detecting a profile (P) of a solid body, in particular for the purpose of determining wear occurring on the solid body, the method comprising the steps of:

generating at least one light beam by a laser device and expanding the light beam to form at least one linear light band,

projecting the light band onto at least one area of the surface of the solid body, moving the solid body past the laser device,

focusing the reflected light from the area of the surface of the solid body in an imaging device, whose optical axis is at a fixed triangulation angle (φ

) to the direction of projection of the laser device and which is arranged at a fixed base distance (B) from the laser device,

detecting the light reflected at a frequency (f) that is high by comparison with a speed of movement of the solid body by means of a planar light receiving element outputting signals from the light receiving element as a function of the triangulation angle (φ

) and the base distance (B) by means of trigonometric relations and in combination with correction values (Kv) determined in accordance with the speed of movement of the solid body,

obtaining with a data processing device measured values (z_B) of the profile (P) using the signals from the light receiving element,

storing the measured values (z_B) in the data processing device as a profilogram (PG),

using a number of profilograms as component profilograms (PG_a, PG_b, PG_c) by using at least three laser devices, that project light bands onto areas lying on various sides of the surface of the solid body, wherein the solid body has a shape that is substantially cylindrical and has at least three areas onto which the light bands are projected that lie on the two end faces and on the lateral surface of the cylinder,

using imaging devices assigned to said laser devices,

storing the component profilograms in the data processing system, and

obtaining an overall profilogram therefrom, wherein the overall profilogram of a rolling solid body is obtained from three component profilograms (PG_a, PG_b, PG_c) and determined simultaneously at one detection instant (t_k) by the two end faces and on the lateral surface, the detection instant (t_k) of the individual component profilograms (PG_a, PG_b, PG_c) being selected in such a way that a measured value (z_k) determined at this detection instant (t_k) assumes a maximum from at least three measured values (z₁, z₂, z₃) that lie on a circular arc of radius in one of the end faces (D₁, D₂) and are respectively determined at successive instants (t₁, t₂, t₃) and in a unidirectional fashion from the respective length of the linear light band, and that respectively correspond to half the length of a chord (sl₁, sl₂, sl₃) through the circular arc.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of comparing one of the profilogram, the component profilograms (PG_a, PG_b, PG_c) and overall profilogram with at least one reference profilogram, and ascertaining the respective deviations (Δ

PG) from the respective reference profilogram.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of referring one of the profilogram, the component profilograms (PG_a, PG_b, PG_c), the overall profilogram, the respective reference profilogram and the respective deviations (Δ

PG) to a fixed long-term invariant geometric base quantity.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the base quantity is determined from at least three measured values that are determined by contactless and dynamic measurements on the moving solid body and are undertaken in the same way as the detection of the profilogram or the detection of the component profilograms (PG_a, PG_b, PG_c).

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising the step of performing the contactless and dynamic measurements on the moving solid body in prescribed time intervals (Δ

t) at least three instants (t₁, t₂, t₃) by means of a single light beam expended to form a linear light band.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising the step of simultaneously performing the contactless and dynamic measurements on the moving solid body by means of at least three light beams respectively expanded to form a linear light band in conjunction with a prescribed distance (N1, N2) of the areas of the surface of the solid body onto which the light bands are projected.

7. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein at least one of the profilogram, the component profilograms (PG_a, PG_b, PG_c), the overall profilogram, the respective reference profilogram and the respective deviations (Δ

PG) are based on a resolution (dz_A) of less than 2.0 mm.

8. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of visualizing the respective reference profilogram (BP1, BP2) in an indicating device such as a display.

9. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of visualizing the respective deviations (Δ

PG) in an indicating device such as a display.

10. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein at least one of the profilogram, the component profilograms (PG_a, PG_b, PG_c), the overall profilogram, the respective reference profilogram and the respective deviations (Δ

PG) are based on a resolution (dz_A) of less than 0.5 mm.

11. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the base quantity is a radius (R) of a rolling rotationally symmetrical body, which is determined from the following system of equations:

R²=x₁²+z₁² 

 

(1)

R²=x₂²+z₂² 

 

(2)

R²=x₃²+z₃² 

 

(3)

x₁−

x₂=k*(x₂−

x₃) 

 

(4),

z₁, z₂, z₃ being three measured values lying on a circular arc of radius (R), respectively determined in a unidirectional fashion and corresponding to the ordinate (z) of a Cartesian coordinate system, of the length of the linear light band and which respectively correspond to half the length of a chord (s1₁, s1₂, s1₃) through the circular arc, x₁, x₂, x₃ being the abscissa values (x) respectively associated with these measured values, and k being a factor corresponding to prescribed time intervals (Δ

t) or distances (N1, N2) of the areas of the surface of the solid body.

12. The method of claim 3 wherein the base quantity is a non-wearing wheel rim inside diameter.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising the steps of

determining in a receiving loop a distance signal representing the distance between the solid body and the laser device,

determining the speed of movement of the solid body as a temporal variation of the distance between the solid body and the laser device,

selecting from image matrices acquired in an image triggering of the receiving loop—

dependent on the speed of movement of the solid body—

an image matrix being representative for the measured values (Z_B) of the profile,

combining the measured values (Z_B) of the profile with correction values (Kv)

determined in accordance with the speed of movement of the solid body

and valid as permanently prescribed values in a time range of measuring, which is fixed dependent on the distance signal.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein a hardware component is incorporated in a test stand located on a rail in order to implement the receiving loop.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the receiving loop is implemented in a client of a client-server circuit with a spatially remote server, at least one of the following operations being set in operation by a request from the server system start operations, activating a trigger for image triggering and switching on a laser device.

16. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein provided in the receiving loop by a laser distance sensor downstream of signal conditioning is a distance signal from which initiators for the image triggering are obtained by a signal evaluation.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the signal evaluation establishes logic and temporal links between the distance signal and the initiators for the image triggering by means of a programmable device that permits various time-based logic sequences to be configured.

18. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the image triggering provides image matrices that are buffered in a preferably cyclically operating, sequential image memory on the light receiving element.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein an image selection of an image matrix representative of the measured values (z_B) of the profile (P) is made from the image matrices as a function of the speed of the solid body.

20. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein downstream of obtaining of the measured values (z_B) of the profile (P), the measured values (z_B) are sent to the server, together with respectively associated values of a distance from the laser device, of a measuring point in accordance with a light band used and a time of the image triggering.

21. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the receiving loop includes abort criteria condition checks that are connected to at least one of a timer and a number of predetermined measurements.