System and method of optical scanning of a vehicle for measuring and/or controlling the vehicle and/or parts thereof

Optical scanning system for measuring and/or controlling a vehicle and/or parts of a vehicle, where the vehicle is arranged on a control station, the optical scanning system comprises:

• at least two optical reader apparatus which are arranged on a plane (P) of said control station, on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis (A) of said vehicle, in order to be facing to the opposite lateral sides of the vehicle,
• the two optical reader apparatus are provided with respective optical image capturing devices configured to provide respective data/signals encoding one or more images containing at least partially said opposite sides of the vehicle,
• an electronic processing and control system which is configured to process said data/signals in order to determine and construct one or more three-dimensional images relating to said vehicle and/or to parts of the vehicle,
• said optical reader apparatuses each comprise:
• a plate-shaped element which extends along a longitudinal axis (C) transversal to said longitudinal axis (A) and is fixed on said plane (P) in a position adjacent to one side of the vehicle, said plate-shaped element has a horizontal upper surface on which a fixed horizontal calibration target is arranged adjacent to the optical image capturing device of the relative optical reader apparatus at a predetermined distance from it,
• said optical image capturing devices is configured to capture one or more images of said fixed horizontal calibration target on said plate-shaped element so as to provide respective data/signals encoding the image of the fixed horizontal calibration target itself,
• said electronic processing and control system is configured to calibrate said optical reader apparatuses on the basis of the images of the respective fixed horizontal calibration targets.

An optical scanning method configured to measure and/or control a vehicle and/or parts of a vehicle, wherein the vehicle is arranged in a control station, the method comprises the steps of:

• positioning at least two optical reader apparatuses on a surface (P) of said control station, on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis (A) of said vehicle, in order to be facing opposite sides of the vehicle, wherein the two optical reader apparatuses are provided with respective optical image capturing devices configured to provide respective data/signals encoding one or more images at least partially containing said opposite sides of the vehicle,
• processing said data/signals in order to determine and construct one or more three-dimensional images relative to said vehicle and/or to parts of the vehicle,
• arranging a calibration target on said surface (P) in a position horizontal immediately adjacent to the optical image capturing device of the relative optical reader apparatus at a pre-established distance from the same in order to be a fixed reference,
• acquiring, via optical image capturing device, one or more images of said adjacent horizontal calibration target thus providing respective data/signals encoding the image of said horizontal calibration target itself,
• calibrating said optical reader apparatuses based on the images of the respective horizontal calibration target,
• said method being characterized in that:
• said optical image capturing reader apparatus comprises:
• a plate-shaped element which lies on a horizontal plane and extends along a longitudinal axis (C) transversal to said longitudinal axis (A), the plate-shaped element has an upper surface, on which said horizontal calibration target is arranged in order to lie on a horizontal plane,
• and a column, in which said optical image capturing device is arranged, the method comprises the steps of:
• firmly fixing said plate-shaped element on said surface (P) in a position approximately adjacent to a side of the vehicle,
• coupling said column to the plate-shaped element so that its longitudinal axis (B) is approximately orthogonal to the longitudinal axis (C) of said plate-shaped element and so that the relative optical image capturing device is arranged at said pre-established distance from the fixed horizontal calibration target,
• acquiring/capturing the image of the horizontal calibration target present on the underlying plate-shaped element by means of said optical image capturing device present in said column.