Method for assessing a condition of an axle of a moving vehicle
AssigneeHunter Engineering Company
InventorsMichael T. Stieff, Timothy A. Strege, Daniel R. Dorrance
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle measurement station utilizing one or more displacement sensors disposed on each opposite side of an inspection region of a vehicle inspection lane to acquire displacement measurement data along associated measurement axes. At least a portion of the displacement measurement data is associated with the outermost wheel assemblies on an axle of a moving vehicle passing through the inspection region, and utilized to determine one or more vehicle characteristics, such as an axle total toe condition.
Claims11
A method for assessing a condition of an axle of a moving vehicle, comprising:
- for each outermost wheel assembly on an axle, contactlessly determining a distance from an associated fixed point not on the wheel, to a first identified location on the wheel assembly outer surface, along an associated fixed path while the vehicle is moving;
- for each outermost wheel assembly on said axle, contactlessly determining a distance from said associated fixed point to a second identified location on the wheel assembly outer surface along said fixed path while the vehicle is moving;
- and
- establishing a representation of the total toe associated with said axle of the moving vehicle using each of the determined distances to the respective first and second locations on the outer surfaces of each outermost wheel assembly on said axle.
A method for assessing a condition of an axle of a moving vehicle, comprising:
- for each outermost wheel assembly on opposite ends of an axle, contactlessly determining a distance, from an associated fixed point not on the wheel assembly, along an associated fixed path, to a first identified location on the wheel assembly outer surface while the vehicle is moving, and subsequently, a distance along said associated fixed path to a second identified location on the wheel assembly outer surface while the vehicle is moving;
- combining said four determined distances together to provide a representation of the total toe associated with the axle of the moving vehicle.
A method for evaluating a condition of an axle of a moving vehicle, said axle having left and right outermost wheel assemblies, comprising:
- moving said vehicle so as to impart a rolling movement to said left and right outermost wheel assemblies on said axle;
- acquiring, for the left outermost wheel assembly, a first associated displacement measurement from a first fixed point to a first point on a surface of the left outermost wheel assembly along a first measurement axis, and, at a subsequent point in time during said movement of the vehicle, a second associated displacement measurement from the first fixed point to a second point on the surface along said first measurement axis;
- acquiring, for the right outermost wheel assembly, a first associated displacement measurement from a second fixed point to a first point on a surface of the right outermost wheel assembly along a second measurement axis, and, at a subsequent point in time during said movement of the vehicle, a second associated displacement measurement from the second fixed point to a second point on the surface along said second measurement axis;
- wherein a direction of said movement of the vehicle is independent of said first and second measurement axes;
- and
- collectively combining each of said first and second displacement measurements associated with said left and right wheel assemblies to establish a representation of axle total toe.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.