Method and apparatus for wheel alignment

Abstract

A vehicle wheel alignment method and system is provided. A three-dimensional target is attached to a vehicle wheel known to be in alignment. The three-dimensional target has multiple target elements thereon, each of which has known geometric characteristics and 3D spatial relationship with one another.

1 . A method for determining the alignment of a motor vehicle wheel, comprising the steps of:
 attaching a three-dimensional target on the vehicle wheel, wherein the three-dimensional target comprises a first planar target on a first substrate and a second planar target on a second substrate, the first and second substrates being spaced apart from each other, each of the first and second planar targets having thereon a plurality of target elements having known geometric characteristics and being configured in 3D space in accordance with known three-dimensional relationships with each other;   detecting, from a 2D image of the three-dimensional target acquired by at least one camera, a plurality of target element images corresponding to the plurality of target elements; and   determining the alignment of the wheel based on a spatial orientation of the three-dimensional target determined based on the target element images and the three-dimensional relationships among the target elements.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the three dimensional target has a plurality of facets, at least one of which has one or more target elements residing on the surface of the facet. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the target elements on a surface of a part forms a prescribed pattern. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein surfaces of different parts having target elements thereon have certain geometric relationships. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of parts are constructed within a housing for the three-dimensional target. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the target elements are made retro-reflective and reside against a non-reflective surface of the three-dimensional target. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the target elements are made non-reflective and reside against a retro-reflective surface of the three-dimensional target. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the step of determining the alignment comprises the step of detecting an image feature of each target element image. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the image feature includes a representative location of the target element image. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the representative location corresponds to a centroid of the corresponding target element image. 
     
     
         11 . A method for determining the alignment of a motor vehicle wheel, comprising the steps of:
 attaching a three-dimensional target on a vehicle, wherein the three-dimensional target comprises a first planar target on a first substrate and a second planar target on a second substrate, the first and second substrates being spaced apart from each other, each of the first and second planar targets having thereon a plurality of target elements having known geometric characteristics and being configured in 3D space in accordance with known three-dimensional relationships with each other;   acquiring a 2D image of the three-dimensional target using at least one camera; and   utilizing the 2D image of the three-dimensional target to determine wheel alignment based on the three-dimensional target.   
     
     
         12 . A system for determining the alignment of a motor vehicle wheel, comprising:
 a three-dimensional target for attachment to a vehicle wheel, wherein the three-dimensional target comprises a first planar target on a first substrate and a second planar target on a second substrate, the first and second substrates being spaced apart from each other, each of the first and second planar targets having thereon a plurality of target elements having known geometric characteristics and being configured in 3D space in accordance with known three-dimensional relationships with each other;   a 2D imaging system for acquiring a 2D image of the three dimensional target;   a target element feature detecting system for detecting, from the 2D image, a plurality of target element images corresponding to the plurality of target elements; and   a wheel alignment determination system for determining the alignment of the vehicle wheel based on a spatial orientation of the three-dimensional target determined in accordance with the detected target element images and the three-dimensional relationships among the target elements.   
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the three dimensional target has a plurality of parts, at least one of which has one or more target elements residing on a surface of the part. 
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 13 , wherein the target elements on a surface of a part forms a prescribed pattern. 
     
     
         15 . The system according to  claim 13 , wherein surfaces of different parts having target elements thereon form certain geometric relationships. 
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of parts are constructed within a housing for the three-dimensional target. 
     
     
         17 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the target elements are made retro-reflective and reside against a non-reflective surface of the three-dimensional target. 
     
     
         18 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the target elements are made non-reflective and reside against a retro-reflective surface of the three-dimensional target. 
     
     
         19 . A system for determining the alignment of a motor vehicle wheel, comprising:
 a three-dimensional target attachable to a wheel to be aligned, wherein the three-dimensional target comprises a first planar target on a first substrate and a second planar target on a second substrate, the first and second substrates being spaced apart from each other, each of the first and second planar targets having thereon a plurality of target elements having known geometric characteristics and being configured in 3D space in accordance with known three-dimensional relationships with each other;   an imaging system, having at least one camera, capable of acquiring a 2D image of the three dimensional target; and   a wheel orientation determination system configured for utilizing the 2D image of the three-dimensional target to determine wheel orientation based on the three-dimensional target.   
     
     
         20 . A method for determining a measurement relating to an object, comprising the steps of:
 associating a three-dimensional target with the object, wherein the three-dimensional target comprises a first planar target on a first substrate and a second planar target on a second substrate, the first and second substrates being spaced apart from each other, each of the first and second planar targets having thereon a plurality of target elements having known geometric characteristics and being configured in 3D space in accordance with known three-dimensional relationships with each other;   detecting, from a 2D image of the three-dimensional target acquired by at least one camera, a plurality of target element images corresponding to the plurality of target elements; and   determining the measurement relating to the object based on a spatial orientation of the three-dimensional target determined based on the target element images and the three-dimensional relationships among the target elements.