Abstract:
Ein Verfahren zur Bestimmung von Kenngrößen einer Achsgeometrie eines Fahrzeugs (2) umfasst die Schritte: Einlenken eines an einer Achse (8a) des Fahrzeugs (2) befestigten Rades (4a) auf verschiedene Einlenkpositionen mit verschiedenen Einlenkwinkeln ( β i ); Bestimmen der räumlichen Lage des Rades (4a) an den verschiedenen Einlenkpositionen; Bestimmen der jeweiligen Drehachse (n i ) des Rades (4a) an den verschiedenen Einlenkpositionen aus den Ergebnissen der Bestimmung der räumlichen Lage; Modellieren eines parametrischen Modells (f( β i ,n s ,o s ,n D )) der Spreizachse (S); Anpassen des parametrischen Modells (f( β i ,n s ,o s ,n D )) der Spreizachse (S) an die aus der Messung der räumlichen Lage bestimmten Drehachsen (n i ) des Rades (4a); und Bestimmen von Kenngrößen der Achsgeometrie aus dem angepassten parametrischen Modell (f( β i ,n s ,o s ,n D )) der Spreizachse (S).
Abstract:
A method of filtering noise in a three-dimensional position measurement system comprising receiving distance data representative of the respective distances between at least four spatially dispersed known points and an unknown point, performing triangulation calculations to determine at least two solutions to the three dimensional position of the unknown point relative to the known points, calculating a symmetrical bounding surface such as a sphere or cube which just encloses the said solutions, comparing the maximum dimension of the bounding surface with a first predetermined error threshold, and if the maximum dimension is less than the first error threshold, determining the centre position of the bounding surface and outputting the centre position as a noise-filtered position for the unknown point.
Abstract:
A method for detecting a loss of motor control in an electric power steering system is disclosed, In an exemplary embodiment, the method includes determining a duty cycle of a steering command signal generated by a controller, The steering command signal commands a steering mechanism to be turned in either a first or a second direction, the second direction being opposite to the first direction, A steering velocity of the steering mechanism is determined, the steering velocity being characterized by a steering velocity magnitude and a steering velocity direction whenever the steering velocity is greater than zero. The steering velocity direction corresponds to either the first or the second direction. The duty cycle is then compared to a first selected value, and the steering velocity magnitude is compared to a second selected value. If the duty cycle exceeds the first selected value, the steering velocity magnitude exceeds the second selected value, and the steering velocity direction is opposite to the direction commanded by the steering command signal, then a fault signal is generated.
Abstract:
A linear measuring apparatus, especially for measuring the misalignment of vehicle wheels, the apparatus including a plate (4) freely moveable at right angles to the direction of movement of a vehicle wheel over the plate, and detecting means to measure the movement of the plate as the wheel passes along the length of the plate.
Abstract:
A computerized automotive service equipment system causes the initiation of a servicing routine upon the detection of particular stimuli from the sensors. The system also places instructional output on the output device simultaneously with an output representative of a vehicle diagnostic state. Object oriented programming techniques are utilized to allow an automotive servicing application to be easily and conveniently updated. The automotive service equipment system is constructed so that replacement of the sensor hardware only requires the replacement of a single software object or collection of objects instead of the rewriting of the entire application. In the system, the operator/technician can program the sequence in which the automotive service routing will proceed.
Abstract:
Undesired deviations in wheel angle measurements caused by compression forces inherent in alignment operations are corrected. A vehicle wheel is placed in a particular orientation both before and after an alignment procedure, and respective angle measurements are taken each time. Any difference in these angle measurements must be the result of an undesired deviation. Such deviation quantities may then be monitored by an operator or compensated during subsequent angle measurements by a computer (50) alignment system.
Abstract:
A wheel clamp attaches to a vehicle wheel for performing a wheel alignment on the vehicle. The wheel clamp has a body for supporting a target or measuring head, and three extendable arms slidably mounted to the body. Each arm has a gripping portion for gripping the tire's tread surface and a sidewall contact portion for contacting the tire sidewall such that the clamp body is substantially parallel to the vehicle wheel and the wheel clamp has no contact with the rim. A self-centering linkage has enmeshed gears and link arms respectively connecting the arms to the gears, such that when the gears are rotated, the arms simultaneously proportionally slide relative to the clamp body, so the gripping portions of the arms engage and grip the tire tread surface and tighten the clamp onto the tire, while the sidewall contact portions of the arms contact the tire sidewall.
Abstract:
An improved method and system are provided for performing rolling runout compensation for vehicle wheel alignment. A plurality of sets of camber and toe measurements are acquired for a pair of vehicle wheels, each at a different, relatively small rollback angle between measurements; e.g., rolling the vehicle more than 0° and less than 180° from the last wheel position. Best fit sine waves are computed for each of the camber and toe measurements using the acquired data, and the best fit parameters are applied to compute runout at the current wheel angle. The computed runouts are subtracted from the measured camber and toe values to get true camber and toe values of the pair of wheels.
Abstract:
In a method for checking the alignment of a vehicle having two wheels (1, 2), one wheel (1) is positioned on a driving bed (12), the other wheel (2) is held in a fixed position, the wheel (1) is rotationally driven and contactless distance measurements are taken to determine the mean plane of this wheel (1) with respect to the other wheel (2).