Method and system for detecting misalignment of a front end accessory drive belt
AssigneeFord Motor Company
InventorMatthew BRENEMAN
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present discloser is directed toward a method for detecting misalignment of a belt for a front end accessory drive system. The method includes acquiring, by a plurality of optical sensors, multiple images of the belt arranged on a series of pulleys of the drive system. The belt includes a contrast element that is detectable by the optical sensors system and is visually distinct from a color of the belt. The method further includes analyzing, by way of a controller, data indicative of the acquired images to determine whether the contrast element is present in the captured images, and identifying the belt as being misaligned in response to the contrast element being in at least one of the acquired images.
Claims20
A method for detecting misalignment of a belt for a front end accessory drive system, the method comprising:
- acquiring, by a plurality of optical sensors, multiple images of the belt arranged on a series of pulleys of the drive system, wherein the optical sensors are disposed external of the drive system, and the belt includes a contrast element that is detectable by the optical sensors and is visually distinct from a color of the belt;
- analyzing, by way of a controller, data indicative of the acquired images to determine whether the contrast element is present in the captured images;
- and
- identifying the belt as being misaligned in response to the contrast element being in at least one of the acquired images.
An alignment detection system for detecting misalignment of a belt installed on a front end accessory drive (FEAD) system, the alignment detection system comprising:
- a plurality of digital cameras arranged to capture images of the belt arranged on multiple pulleys of the FEAD system, wherein the digital cameras are configured to detect a contrast element on the belt, the contrast element is visible to the digital cameras and is visually distinct from the belt;
- and
- a controller configured to process data indicative of the images captured to determine whether the belt is misaligned on the FEAD system, wherein the controller determines that the belt is misaligned in response to the contrast element being captured in one or more of the images, and the belt is determined as being aligned in response to the contrast element being absent in the images captured.
A belt misalignment detection method for a vehicle comprising:
- capturing, by multiple digital cameras, images of the belt arranged on multiple pulleys of an accessory drive system, wherein the belt includes a contrast element visible by the cameras;
- analyzing data indicative of the images to determine whether the contrast element is present in the captured images;
- and
- identifying the belt as misaligned when the contrast element is detected in at least one of the images.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.